Strength
by LizzeXX
Summary: Thor/OC - Thor has lost his father, his home, his hammer, everything...except Athena. When the two gods find themselves trapped on the planet Sakaar, they find more lost things to return home. But with Hela on the throne and an army of the dead at her command, will the two warriors be able to save Asgard and stop Hela? What will they sacrifice to do it? Fifth in the Heroic Hymns.
1. Surtur

A/N: Hello! :) This is the **fifth story** in my Thor/OC story, the Heroic Hymns, Strength. The first and third story (Humility and Strategy) are listed under the THOR section of this site while the second and fourth story (War and Truth), are under the Avengers as it follows the sequence of movies in the Thor series. This is not a Jane/Thor story nor a Thor/Sif one either, but a Thor/OC ;) This is going to be my attempt at working an OC into the Ragnarok movie so it will revolve around the events of the movie, but also include some original segments :) This story will be about 10 chapters long, updated daily :)

To give a short description of my OC, Athena: She is a tall woman, pale, with blonde hair that is a bit long and gray eyes. She tends to wear her hair half up, half down, but with a bun in the top half. Her bun has a small stick in it that Thor gave her that is really a very delicate dagger. She tends to wear brown leather armor, a breastplate from her brother, with a coin necklace under it. She has a charm bracelet made by her siblings that she doesn't wear often. For a reference, I picture the OC, Athena, to look something like Rosamund Pike :)

I hope you enjoy! :)

~8~ is a scene break

Disclaimer...I don't own Thor or things from the movie/comic, just my OC and some original aspects...if I had Frigga really would have been saved in Dark World :)

~8~

Surtur

Athena cursed every deity she knew of as she crouched down low behind a stalagmite in the heart of the lair of Surtur, enemy of Asgard. She and Thor had been scouring the cosmos for the Infinity Stones, magic items of enormous power, capable of giving someone control over the entire universe. They knew the location of some, the Mind Stone being entrusted to Vision on Earth. But, lately, Thor had been plagued with terrible nightmares of the destruction of his home, of Asgard, with Surtur rampaging in the middle of it all. Normally one might think it just a dream, but for those like herself, like Thor, something like this was not meant to be ignored. Recurring dreams, vivid nightmares where the details were all the same, especially of dreams that had not happened yet. They both feared that it could only be prophecy. She had thought to investigate further, and Thor had taken it just one step more by deciding their investigation should start with the creature he had seen in the heart of his dreams, Surtur.

They had arrived on the outskirts of the creature's lair, the area smoldering and filled with lava, rocks that breathed fire, caverns all around them, with a large structure in the center of it rising high above anything else. She had turned to Thor, about to launch into an idea of how they could infiltrate the structure and corner Surtur…only to find that Thor had already taken off running towards the structure and making a very loud ruckus. She'd stood there, her arms crossed, watching as small fire-like demons arose from the lava and swarmed him, Thor not making any move at all to defend himself as he was bound in a net and dragged towards the structure.

Well…it WAS one way to do it.

Granted an ill-advised, risky, and unpredictable way, where he could just as easily have been executed by the minions than taken captive. But it HAD worked, chances were Thor was about to be taken right to Surtur and, if she was quick enough, she could follow just behind the minions. They didn't appear very intelligent just from a cursory glance, they likely wouldn't think to look for an accomplice or notice if she did lag behind them.

She took a deep breath, resolving not to murder Thor when she freed him, and hurried along down the dark and twisting path.

~8~

Athena crept carefully through a narrow cavern, ducked low and following the sounds of Thor speaking to someone as it echoed through the rock walls around her. She had to smile to herself, not just from what Thor was saying, how he was regaling whomever it was he spoke to of their recent adventures, but also just the action of sneaking around. The caves, especially, how dark and dangerous it was, how unsteady. It reminded her of the Underworld, of Hades, her uncle, his kingdom and domain. She could remember times where she and Ares would linger in the Underworld, hunting and stalking each other in mock battles, always trying to keep their skills sharp and practice in environments they weren't used to.

This was so like that, expect, instead of anticipating Ares leaping out at her at every turn, she had to worry about an enemy she couldn't predict.

This was amazing!

As much as she adored sparring with Thor, and as much as she had loved sparing with some of her family before she'd gone to Asgard, she KNEW him. She had gotten so familiar with his fighting style that she could often predict what he was about to do. It was like there was something in her mind that just never shut off when it came to battle. She picked up on the fighting styles of others quickly, their strategies, weaknesses, perhaps it just came with being the Goddess of War and Strategy on Earth. It made it easy to guess what Thor was going to do after a time. This though, this was new and unexpected and she could feel the energy of battle coursing through her once more.

She carefully peered around a large crack in the stone to see Thor, sitting in a cage, dangling above the ground, chains wrapped around his body, looking a little worse than when they'd arrived. Both of them had been through a trial since last they were on Earth. Thor's hair was longer, as was his beard, he looked far more grizzly in the red light of the fires that illuminated the room. She let out a soft whistle, catching his attention over to where she was visible through the crack. He smiled at her as she gave a little wave. She made a gesture with her hand and he looked around, before nodding, signaling it was safe to enter, there was no one there. She looked up at the crack, assessing it a moment, before she carefully began to make her way through it, just barely managing to fit. She hopped down from a small ledge by the crack and down to the base of the room, she took a step towards Thor, glancing over to see a skeleton sitting in the corner, clearly the thing he'd been talking to before.

She shook her head at him and moved just under the cage, looking around for a way to get up to it, to try and free him…when the floor suddenly dropped open and he began to fall through another hole that opened in the ground, the chains unraveling around him as he went.

Athena didn't even hesitate to jump down the hole after him, not willing to risk the hole closing up again and cutting her off from finding Thor. She grit her teeth as she tightened her grip on the chains to slow her descent, she squeezed her hands tighter as she saw Thor come to a stop, still tangled in his chains, and gasped. She was higher above him, near the top of another cavern. The walls, floors, and ceiling seemed to be made of a molten rock, hardened but with what looked like a glimmering fire trapped within.

She looked down to see a large throne made of a volcanic rock, with what looked like a dark, charred skeleton sitting upon it, a faint fire burning in its chest. Easily 18 feet tall, the flesh that still clung to it was made of fire, spiked horns sticking out of its skull.

"Thor…" it spoke, its voice deep and rumbling, "Son of Odin."

Athena glanced down as Thor's chains slowly turned him around to face the creature, "Surtur!" Thor shouted, finally spotting the creature, "Son of a bitch...you're still alive! I thought my father killed you, like, half a million years ago."

"I cannot die. Not until I fulfill my destiny and lay waste to your home."

Thor glanced up at Athena, making it look as though he were examining his chains, jerking his head slightly in gesture, before he focused on Surtur once more, "You know, it's funny you should mention that because I've been having these terrible dreams of late. Asgard up in flames, falling to ruins, and you, Surtur, are at the center of all of them."

Athena looked around, too high up for Surtur to notice, and began to examine the stalactites nearest to her. She reached out one hand to touch one, pulling it back with a quiet hiss as it burned. Not exceedingly hot, but hotter than she was expecting. But, then again, she had spent time assisting Hephaestus in his forge, wanting to know and see exactly how he made her armor and her weapons, she'd felt hotter. So she took a breath and reached out, managing to get a hand hold in the hanging rock. She dangled there for a moment, between the chain and the rock, before swinging to the rock. She could see a stalagtite just a few feet away, so high it nearly touched the stalactite above it, if she could just reach that one, she could climb down and sneak closer to Thor. If she broke the chain that far up, Surtur would know she was there, and without knowing what he was going to do or if he'd attack, it would be best to wait out his plan.

"Then you have seen Ragnarok," Surtur continued, "The fall of Asgard. The great prophecy…"

"Hang on!" Thor shouted, a bit too loudly, but he could see Athena nearly lose her grip and a faint scraping noise sound, something Surtur was sure to hear had he not been so loud, "Hang on," he twisted a bit as his chains began to move so he couldn't see the creature. If he was to be the distraction till Athena had a better ground to stand on, he wanted to at least be facing the demon, "I'll be back around shortly. I really feel like we were connecting there…" he wiggled just a bit, rotating fully to face Surtur once more, "Ok, so, Ragnarok. Tell me about that. Walk me through it…"

Athena shook her head at that, but couldn't help but smile once more, reaching another stalactite, as she listened in on what Thor was doing. It was something they had heatedly debated long ago, when Ultron had been but a sparkle in Tony Stark's eye. Tony had invited them to dwell with him until they had found the scepter of Loki. They had ended up watching a rather ridiculous 'movie' as it was called, where a hero had been captured by the villain and the villain had then described every detail of his nefarious plan because he thought the hero was going to die anyway. Thor had been of the mind that that would never happen, a true trickster would keep his plans close to chest no matter what.

She had reminded him how Loki himself, god of mischief, had revealed small parts of his plans with the Hulk when the 'Avengers' had first assembled. She had argued that it did make sense and was a fair tactic to use, depending on the situation. It appeared Thor was now using it against Surtur.

"My time has come," Surtur laughed darkly, "When my crown is reunited with the Eternal Flame, I shall be restored to my full might. I will tower over the mountains and bury my sword deep in Asgard's…"

"Hang on," Thor cut in once more, as Athena dropped down from a large stalactite to the stalagmite below it…and also his chains had rotated him once more so his back was to Surtur, "Give it a second…I swear I'm not even moving, it's just doing this on its own. I'm really sorry…" he sent Athena a wink as she began to duck behind the stalagmites, making her way closer to Surtur's throne, "Ok," he finally faced the demon once more, "Let me get this straight. You're going to put your crown into the Eternal Flame, and then you'll suddenly grow as big as a house…"

"A mountain!"

"The Eternal Flame that Odin keeps locked away on Asgard?" Thor laughed heartily at that, there was no way Surtur would even be able to get to it.

"Odin is not on Asgard," the demon taunted, "And your absence has left the throne defenseless."

Athena looked over, just one stalagmite away from Surtur's throne, to catch Thor's eye. He seemed startled by Surtur's words, and more than a little concerned for what that could mean for his father's life. She gave him a shake of the head and a pointed nod to the throne, urging him with the gesture to keep going, just a little longer.

Thor cleared his throat, "Ok, so where is it? This crown?"

"This is my Crown!" Surtur pointed at the horns on his head, "The source of my power!"

"Oh, that's a crown?" Thor snorted, "I thought it was a big eyebrow."

Athena had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at that, knowing Thor was also following another tactic they had spent long hours debating, whether anger made someone a better fighter or more sloppy. She was of the mind that, brute strength aside, fighters made more mistakes when they were angry than clear of mind. Thor was clearly trying to test that theory with Surutr by antagonizing him. As long as it worked and the demon didn't notice her climbing up the back of his throne she would not comment on his tactics.

"It's a _crown_!" Surtur roared.

"Anyway," Thor ignored him, "It sounds like all I have to do to stop Ragnarok is rip that thing off your head."

Thor's gaze moved to the top of Surtur's head, as though he were merely examining the 'crown' he needed to steal…Surtur, of course, would not be able to truly see what Thor was actually looking at.

Surtur stood and stomped towards Thor, dragging a flaming sword along with him, "But Ragnarok has already begun. You cannot stop it. I am Asgard's doom, and so are you. All will suffer, all will burn!" Surtur reached out and grabbed the chain just above Thor and yanked it high, holding the dangling god so they were eye to eye.

"That's intense," Thor admitted, a small smirk on his face, "To be honest, seeing you grow really big and set fire to a planet would be quite the spectacle. But it looks like I'm going to have to go with option B where I bust out of these chains, knock that tiara off your head, and stash it away in Asgard's vault."

Surtur growled, "You cannot stop Ragnarok. Why fight it?"

Thor grinned, opening his hand behind his back to call Mjolnir to him, but chuckled, "Because that's what heroes do. Isn't that right, Athena?"

Athena, who was standing on top of Surtur's 'crown,' one hand on a horn, the other gripping her sword, smiled, "Oh yes."

Surtur had only just jerked his head back, as though he'd be able to look up at her on top of his head, when she jumped up, anticipating the move. She gripped her sword tightly as she fell back towards the giant and slashed at his forehead, making a deep cut just below the edge of his 'crown.'

Surtur stumbled back, crying out in pain as Athena landed on the ground, turning to slash at the chain that Surtur had dropped, freeing Thor just as Mjolnir flew through the rock walls and into his hand. He spun the hammer quickly, using it to fly him a distance away, and threw it back at the demon, smashing it in the face just as it recovered. Athena and Thor grinned at each other as the hammer returned to Thor's hand.

"You have made a grave mistake!" Surtur bellowed, opening his arms with a roar.

The two gods looked over as the walls seemed to crack around them, a swarm of the fiery minions rushing into the cavern.

Thor scoffed, "I make grave mistakes all the time!" he told the demon, "Everything seems to work out!"

"Not exactly something you want your enemies to know!" Athena shouted bcack at him, turning to slash at a demon that made its way towards them right as a fire erupted from the shadows, a dragon made of flames clawing its way out.

Thor laughed with an odd joy as the demons swarmed at them, "This is just like that time we helped in Nidavellir!"

Athena grunted as she cut a demon in half, "You and I remember Nidavellir very differently!"

Thor took a running jump at a nearby wall, jumping off it and flipping in the air, landing with a hard strike of Mjolnir on the ground, sending out a shockwave that knocked the swarm back, Athena having braced herself with her shield to protect her from the energy. They quickly turned their attention to the Surtur, racing at him, ready to fight. Surtur threw his hand forward, sending a wall of flames at them. Athena braced herself with her shield once more as Thor swung his hammer around to create a barrier between him and the fire. It lasted only a moment before the two were racing at Surtur once more.

"I'll take behind!" Athena shouted at Thor, moving onto her knees to slide right between Surtur's legs and spring up behind him while Thor took on the demon face to face.

Sparks of fire and electricity rained down everywhere as the two engaged in combat, Athena attacking Surtur from behind to distract him and give Thor another advantage. She leapt up, stabbing Surtur in the back of one of his knees, driving him to the ground with a cry of pain as Thor shot into the sky, summoning lightning to Mjolnir and flying straight back. Athena dove out of the way as Thor smashed the hammer into Surtur's forehead, right where she'd made the first cut and knocked the 'crown' right off his head.

Instantly the giant, fire demon shrunk down, his body seizing as though it were collapsing in on itself until it was nothing more than a pile of charred bones lying in a heap on the ground.

Athena let out a relieved breath and moved to pick up the 'crown' with a grin to Thor. She tossed it over to him as he quickly strapped it to his back, "Thor!" she called, pointing to something behind him with her sword.

He turned to see the demonic minions of Surtur regrouping, even more scurrying their way into the cavern. He reached out to Athena, pulling her to him as he lifted his hammer in the other hand, "Heimdall!" he called, "I know it's been a while, but we could use a fast exit!"

Athena braced herself for the telltale signs of the Bifrost opening…but nothing happened.

"Heimdall?" Thor tried again.

"Plan C!" Athena shouted, pulling away from him and slashing through a line of minions that had gotten too close. The two of them sprang into action, battling against the minions when a roar sounded above them.

The dragon of fire had finally broken free of its restraints.

Athena didn't hesitate to turn and grab onto Thor as he spun Mjolnir in his hand, throwing it into the air to help him lift off.

"What I wouldn't give for Hermes' shoes right now," Athena muttered under her breath as she clung to Thor, the two of them bursting out through the ceiling of Surtur's lair, up and up and up until they reached the land above. A rocky, uneven surface that they dove onto as a blast of fire erupted from the hole they'd just made. She panted, sitting up and hurrying over to Thor as he frantically patted at the end of his cape, which had caught on fire.

He took her hand to stand, and held Mjolnir up once more but still there was nothing, "Heimdall, come on."

The two gods looked down as the ground began to shake, backing up quickly as the stone on the edge of the hole began to topple downwards. They were thrown to the ground as the dragon of fire flew up through the hole, crashing out of the lair beside them. It turned sharply to them, its mouth opening wide to roar in their faces…

Only for Thor to quickly shove Mjolnir in its mouth, causing it to crash to the ground, its jaw weighed down by the weight of the hammer. They stood there a moment, watching as it thrashed and growled and squirmed, but was unable to break free.

"Stay!" Thor commanded the dragon, before sighing as he turned to Athena, "We may be running short on…"

He trailed off as the ground started to crumble around them in numerous spots, sinking in like quicksand before more of the fiery demons clawed their way out.

"Options."

"Plan D, then," Athena muttered, rushing over to him and grabbing on as he grabbed the hammer from the dragon's mouth and flew them off into the sky, trying to use Mjolnir to get to safety. It was a near thing to keep ahead of the dragon as it flew on their tail, even more to avoid the flaming projectiles the demons were launching at them.

"Come on, Heimdall…" Thor glanced back, genuinely starting to fear they may not escape this…

When the Bifrost opened around them and the jaw of the great beast, pulling them in…

~8~

There was an enormous boom that resounded in Athena's ear as she and Thor nearly exploded out of the Bifrost and into the observatory of Asgard…the now-severed head of the dragon coming along with them and covering the people in front of them with a generous helping of purple blood and some entrails. Athena let out a breath of relief to find them back in Asgard, the Bifrost closing behind them. She didn't pay much mind to the dragon's head as it slid away from her and across the floor. She honestly hadn't noticed, having been checking to make sure Thor was alright, until two women screamed.

She looked over to see two women covered in purple rushing out of the Observatory. Her gaze traveled from the purple streak they had left behind to the dragon's head and then back to Thor. Both of them had, thankfully, come away unscathed in that sense, both clean. Which was a small mercy. She'd had some experience with trying to wash out dragon blood, it had managed to make her hair look almost black on Olympus. She'd rather not have to go through the next few days with stained-purple hair.

"Girls!" a voice called out.

The two gods looked back over at the Bifrost controls to see a man who was certainly NOT Heimdall standing there, trying to wipe the purple goo off himself while also trying to stop the women fleeing. He was a broad man, a bit short, with a shaved head and black tattoos etched on his skull. He did not appear at all happy with this turn of events.

The man sighed and looked back at them, eyeing them a moment before he seemed to recognize them, "Well, well, look who decided to pop in. Thanks for scaring away my company and drenching my workplace in brains."

"Who are you?" Thor shook his head, looking bewildered.

"Don't you remember?" the man looked between the two warriors, but they both shook their heads, "I'm Skurge. We fought together on Vanaheim?"

Athena gave him a skeptical look at that, not able to recall seeing his face there, but that wasn't important right now, "Where's Heimdall?" THAT was important, Heimdall would never have abandoned his post, and if he had, for some reason been in the palace or something, he would have certainly heard Thor shouting for help or seen him in danger…so where had he gone?

"That traitor?" Skurge scoffed, not seeing Thor and Athena exchange a wary, confused glance for his words, "No one knows, he's a fugitive of the throne."

"Heimdall? A traitor?" Athena could only repeat, honestly not sure what the man could have possibly done to be labeled a traitor. He was as loyal to Asgard and dedicated to its protection as she and Thor were, probably even more, his entire life was to guard the realm, " _Heimdall_?"

"Yeah, you see, Odin charged Heimdall with negligence of duty, but he disappeared before the trial. Hard to catch a guy who can see everything in the Universe."

Thor opened his mouth to say something, but shook his head, a determined look on his face as he began to march out of the room. Athena fell into step beside him, knowing he was like about to confront Odin about this decision.

SHE was more curious if it WOULD be Odin when they reached him. She'd had a sneaking suspicion, not one she could prove, that the Odin who had bid Thor farewell when last they spoke, had not been Odin at all. He had been sitting so…relaxed in the throne, almost lounging and she could not recall the Allfather ever sitting in such a manner. Loki however…was another story. But there was no proof and they had quite possibly seen the Frost Giant die in front of their eyes.

And Frigga! There was no way at all that Loki, if it had been him parading around as Odin, would have EVER hurt his mother. He cared for the woman a great deal, he would never have done anything to harm her. She had been lucky to save the Queen from the Dark Elf attacks, getting stabbed in her stead, and that was another thing that was worrisome. Frigga would have never agreed to allow Heimdall to be labeled at traitor, she would have fought for his innocence.

Skurge had also failed to mention the Queen in all his recounting, and that did not bode well. If it was not Odin they were about to meet and something had happened to Frigga…she was not sure Thor would be able to stop himself from murdering his brother.

She wasn't sure she'd try to stop him either.

They had only just made it past the door when Skurge darted out in front of them, "Hold on. I'm supposed to announce your arrival."

Thor gave him an unimpressed look and began to spin Mjolnir. Athena moved into his arms as they shot up into the sky, sailing right for the palace. They had only made it halfway there when they noticed a large gathering of people outside the theater arena nearby the palace. Thor glanced at Athena before setting down outside of it, following the crowd as it made its way through the threshold…

"What?" was all Athena could muster as they looked at the gateway above the arena to see a giant statue of Loki with his arms stretched out in welcome.

"A better question," Thor muttered, pointing ahead to the stage, "What the hell is THAT?"

Athena looked over, the two of them stopping in the doorway to observe the other Asgardians gathered to watch what appeared to be a play nearing its end. A play about Loki and Thor for there was an actor clearly dressed as Loki and another who bore a startling resemblance to Thor opposite him.

The actor of Loki was gasping for breath as the actor of Thor caught him and helped him lie down.

"Oh, brother," the 'Loki' gasped, "This is it. I take my leave."

"You fool!" the 'Thor' responded, "You didn't listen!"

"I'm sorry."

"Lady Sif, Get help!"

"What?" Athena shook her head, "Sif wasn't there with us…"

It was clear by the backdrop that the 'scene' was a retelling of when Loki had passed, for it was nowhere near Asgard. And if it WAS that scene, Sif and the Warriors Three, all of whom had actors there, had not been present.

Athena wasn't sure whether she should be insulted that she had been replaced or grateful an actress of herself wasn't forced to endure this mockery.

"Nor did we tell anyone what Loki said," Thor agreed, though his gaze was drawn to his father, to Odin…who was lying on a small reclined bench, complete with cushions, being fed grapes by the women around him and sipping wine from a goblet.

Athena reached out to rest a hand on Thor's clenching fist, realizing he was starting to work out what she'd feared. It truly had NOT been Odin they'd spoken with last, it was Loki and it still was…but where was Frigga?

"Sorry for all I've done," the 'Loki' continued.

"It's alright," the 'Thor' responded, "Hold on."

"I'm sorry I tried to rule Earth."

"They'd be lucky to have you."

"I'm sorry about that thing with the Tesseract. I just couldn't help myself."

"I know."

"I'm a trickster."

"So mischievous."

"Sorry about that time I turned you into a frog."

"It was a wonderful joke."

"When was this?" Athena turned to Thor, unaware of that particular story.

Thor just shook his head, watching as his actor continued to forgive all of Loki's terrible acts, "You are the savior of Asgard."

"Tell my story," the 'Loki' begged.

"I will."

"Build a statue for me."

"We will build a big statue for you."

"With my helmet on, with the big bendy horns."

"I will tell Father what you did here today."

"I didn't do it for him."

Athena blinked as the actor of Loki died a dramatic death, followed by the actor of Thor crying out in grief for the loss…only for another actor, of Odin himself, stepping up to address the audience, "And so Loki died of his wounds, giving his life for ours. He fought back those disgusting Dark Elves. He brought peace to the realm…" the man turned as a young boy painted blue ran up on stage and over to him, "Loki, my boy...'Twas many moons ago I found you on a frost-bitten battlefield. On that day, I did not yet see in you Asgard's savior. No. You were merely a little blue baby icicle...that melted this old fool's heart."

As the crowd erupted in to cheers, Athena could only turn to Thor, sounding a bit sick as she spoke and thinking of a particular half-sister of hers who would be quite angry about what they'd just witnessed.

"Melpomene is going to kill someone."

"I think I'M about to kill someone," Thor returned, heading straight for 'Odin.'

A/N: Melpomene, the muse of tragedy ;)

So welcome back! :) I mentioned on my tumblr that I was going to aim for May to get Ragnarok up for Thor and Athena, I'm cutting it close, but here it's still technically May lol :) AND unlike my other stories, I'm going to attempt updating this one every day ;) I may miss a day or two, but I'll really try to get at least 1 chapter a day ;)

Originally I planned to post this story and then Infinity War after, but I also wanted to try and get a new story up, a Captain America Steve/OC story, so I'm currently debating if I should post that after Ragnarok, then post the Athena-Infinity-War after 'The First Avenger' and alternate between catching up stories with Steve or just focus on catching up my stories first and then go into Steve's OC. Not sure yet ;)

I know it's been a while since I updated this series :( And it's been very long since the tentative date/time I gave for getting this new story up :( A lot of things happened, family issues (brother got married, brother got divorced), job issues (lost our manager, was practically the fill-in manager, got a new very inept manager that made the job uber stressful), and health issues (stress from the manager caused anxiety, no eating, no sleeping, till I quit), so it's been really hard to get into a good place to write. But I'm doing better now and I really am going to try and get this story updated every day ;)

Also, mostly putting this here because I've promised my sister I would actually tell people it: I made a page called ko-fi, where people can show support of a person by contributing a 'cup of coffee' to them. It's not a real cup of coffee, it's a donation that is roughly the cost of a cup of coffee, or about 3 dollars. The link is up on my profile or on my tumblr's LINKS page if anyone is interested. There's no obligation, requirement, or commitment, it just sort of feels to me like a little 'let's talk about your work over a cup of coffee' ;)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of Truth)...

Very true about the Medusa myth :) I had a mythology class where we spent half the session debating the ways to interpret that story. It's my preference to view it as a means of protection than a punishment too, sometimes other interpretations fit best for a story ;)

I did see Ragnarok, and Infinity War, and I am SO excited to get the stories posted for all my Marvel OCs ;)

I have it noted in the first chapters for Athena that I picture Rosamund Pike as being an actress close to how I see Athena ;) Zeus and the other gods definitely had hands in regicide in the past, whether it was literally killing a king or creating the means/situation for others to do it for them :(

Yup, definitely adding Ragnarok to Thor and Loki's OCs ;)

Sorry it took so long, but the Thor Ragnarok story is up now ;)

SO sorry for the delay :( A lot of family issues, work issues, and health issues came up since the last Thor story :( But I'm finally back and ready to go ;)

I've seen Infinity War yup :) At the moment, I'm either going to be posting Infinity War a few days (maybe, at most 2 weeks) after this story is completed, or I'll be posting it after the 1st story of my Steve/OC story, I haven't decided yet. But I'm going to be aiming for June with Infinity War, early July at the latest ;)


	2. Truths Revealed

Truths Revealed

'Odin' stood, not seeming to notice the irate Thor heading in his direction as he began to cheer for the actors, "Bravo! Bravo! Well done. Bravo."

"Thor," Athena caught up to him, reaching out to touch his arm a moment, she gave him a small shake of her head, "Be calm."

Thor took a deep breath, having grown to trust in her advice over the years. His father had intended for Athena to be something of an advisor when she first arrived, and he had learned to heed her wisdom. Being angry now, attacking what everyone thought to be Odin would not be a way to go about this. If anything, it would get him banished to Earth once more for treason. No…he had to reveal 'Odin' for what he was first.

He gave Athena a brief nod and turned back to 'Odin,' approaching far more calmly, "Father," he called out in greeting.

'Odin,' who had been taking a sip of wine from a goblet offered to him, appeared to spit it back out as he caught sight of them coming. Athena almost swore she heard him mutter 'Oh, shit' before he waved the girls away from him and addressed Thor with a regality that she knew Odin would not have overdone quite so much.

"My son!" 'Odin' greeted joyfully, "Thor has returned!" he called to the gathered crowd, "Greetings my boy."

Thor glanced over at the actors, "It's an interesting play…"

Athena only barely refrained from snorting beside him at that. It was a sacrilege against her Muse sisters is what it was.

"What's it called?" Thor continued.

"The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard," 'Odin' answered, "The people wanted to commemorate him."

Thor nodded at that, a considered move, "Indeed they should," he jerked his head back towards the towering statue, "I like that statue. A lot better looking than he was when he was alive, though."

"Aye," Athena agreed, knowing Thor was saying it just to anger 'Odin' into, hopefully, revealing himself for what he was, truly Loki. The man was so vain and prideful that insulting him would just anger him into making a mistake, "Just a tad less weasely than I remember him. His hair looks less greasy too..."

'Odin's' jaw tensed at that, pursing his lips at the remark.

Thor merely continued on, pulling the 'crown' of Surtur from his back and holding it up, "You know what this is?"

"The skull of Surtur," 'Odin' replied, though it sounded more like a question than a statement before the man seemed to find his confidence, "That's a formidable weapon."

Athena reached out and took the 'crown' from Thor's hand, grabbing a passing guard by the front of his armor and hauling him over, "Take this and lock it away in the Vault," she instructed.

"Yes," Thor nodded the guard on, "We don't want it to turn into a giant monster and destroy the whole planet."

The guard gave a nod of his head as he took the 'crown' carefully from Athena's hold and went to do his duty. Athena gave Thor a nod of thanks, both for assisting with commanding the guard but also how he'd phrased what he had. It was not as serious to be said that way than what the true danger Surtur posed was. But they were still surrounded by the people, no need to alarm them over something they had dealt with.

"So it's back to Midgard for you, is it?" 'Odin' asked after a moment.

Thor smirked, "No. I've been having this recurring dream lately. Every night I see Asgard fall into ruins..."

'Odin' waved it off, "That's just a silly dream...signs of an overactive imagination."

"It could be," Athena answered easily, "However, we all know it best not to ignore the dreams that frequent us. 'Tis the universe's way of trying to warn us, to show us the same event over and over when our minds are more open to the whispers of the worlds."

"Poppycock."

Thor was the one that barely refrained from snorting this time. He could not recall a single moment in his life when his father had uttered the word 'poppycock.'

Athena only gave a look as though she'd just trapped him, "It is, I believe, something Frigga often said," she looked around a moment, "Where IS Frigga?"

'Odin' tensed at that, "Oh, you know...off sharpening her sword I'd imagine."

Athena nodded at that and slowly walked over to him, "I wish to see her and know she is well," she began to speak, though her words grew steadily more cold as she went on, "You understand, since I nearly died saving her last time we parted ways," she almost smirked as she came eye to eye with 'Odin', "I would be very, very disappointed to find she was not here, and well protected."

Thor barely contained his grin at how 'Odin' audibly swallowed at the clear threat in her voice and eyes. He had no doubt she would be quite angered if Frigga wasn't safe, "I cannot recall a time you were without her, father," he added.

"She was weary," 'Odin' offered, "I bid her to rest. But be assured, she is safe."

Athena eyed him, "She had better be," she threatened so lowly that only 'Odin' could hear the ice in her words.

Thor looked around, "I should like to speak to her, for her thoughts on my dreams. I have learned never to ignore the wise words of Athena nor mother," he remarked.

"We investigated a great many odd occurences," Athena added.

"And what do we find, but the Nine Realms completely in chaos. Enemies of Asgard assembling, plotting our demise, all while you, Odin, the Protector of those Nine Realms, are sitting here, in your bathrobe, eating grapes."

"Well…" 'Odin' shrugged, "It is best to respect our neighbors' freedom."

Athena shook her head at that, "Funny, those are not the words I recall the Allfather speaking about Jotinheim."

"Yes, well, I've found enlightenment in the time you were away. I have been rather busy myself..."

"Watching theatre?" Thor scoffed.

"Board meetings, and security council meetings..."

Athena snorted at that, "Only those who have gone to Earth would know what a 'board meeting' is," she replied. Tony Stark had complained about them enough the few times they had engaged with him.

"You really going to make me do it?" Thor had to ask.

'Odin' shifted, trying to smile, "Do what?"

Thor merely lifted Mjolnir, swinging it around and hurling it away from him, using the distraction of the move to grab 'Odin' by the back of his neck and move the man in front of him. The guards began to rush for him, but Athena stepped in their path, her sword and shield raised and ready to fight. They skid to a halt, glancing at each other in alarm. She may not have been on Asgard often recently, but her prowess with a blade was no less sharp or well known…and if the state of things was anything to go by, 'Odin' likely had not taken a keen interest in training regiments.

"You know that nothing will stop Mjolnir as it returns to my hand," Thor spoke quietly to 'Odin', "Not even your face."

"You've gone quite mad," 'Odin' warned, "You'll be executed for this!"

Athena looked up, hearing a noise above her to see Mjolnir was hurtling back at an alarming speed, right for Thor and 'Odin.' The older man struggled in Thor's hold, betraying the truth of himself. For the true Odin would not be so powerless to escape Thor's hold.

"Then I'll see you on the other side... _brother_."

'Odin's' eyes widened at the last remark, flickering back and forth between Thor and the hammer, before a shimmer appeared and Loki was standing in Odin's place, shouting out, "Alright, I yield!"

Thor instantly dropped Loki to the ground, turning to catch Mjolnir as though he were merely catching a ball, his gaze on Loki as the traitor held his hands up defensively.

"Behold!" a voice called, drawing their attention to where Skurge had just run onto the scene, very out of breath, "Thor…Odinson...and...Ath..."

Loki glared at the man, cutting in, "You had _one job_! Just the one."

"Where are Odin and Frigga?" Athena demanded.

Loki shook his head, turning to face her as Thor stepped to her side, neither of them setting their weapons aside, knowing how dangerous and slippery Loki could be, "You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Loki asked, "Everything was _fine_ without you. Asgard was prospering, you've ruined everything. Ask them."

Athena glanced at the crowd, none of them looking as startled or concerned as they had been when Thor had first grabbed 'Odin' but, now, they looked far more angry. And it was not directed at her or Thor. Odin was beloved by his people, and for Loki to have been masquerading as him, with none knowing where the king nor his wife were, it would not make any happy.

"Yes," she remarked dryly, "Let's ask them which king they'd rather follow, Odin…or the man who tried to kill him once already and nearly got the Queen killed as well."

Loki glanced over his shoulder at that, as though just noticing how truly furious the crowd was growing.

"Where's father?" Thor advanced on him, causing Loki to stumble back, "Did you kill him? Or mother? Where ARE they Loki!?"

Loki glared at him, "You had what you wanted, you had the independence you asked for!"

Thor returned the glare tenfold, but then smiled when Athena's sword appeared under Loki's chin, the woman having snuck up behind him.

"You tell us where they are," Athena began, "Or we leave your fate to the people."

Loki nearly sneered at that, before spitting out, "I know _exactly_ where they are," and then he smirked, "I can take you right to them."

Thor looked at Athena for that, of course Loki wouldn't just TELL them, not when they still could very well leave him to the people. This was likely their best chance at actually finding Odin or Frigga and so Athena nodded in agreement.

~8~

Of all the places in all the realms, Shady Acres Nursing Home in Manhattan was _not_ the place they thought Loki would have placed Odin or Frigga. Especially not when the building itself was currently being torn down.

Athena crossed her arms, standing beside Thor on the sidewalk as they watched the demolition. She was wearing a brown dress that went down to her mid thighs, much like her battle skirt, with a dark red, leather jacket and sandals that crisscrossed with lacing up to just below her knees. She still had her shield strapped to her back, her sword hidden behind it, not about to go anywhere without protection. Thor was equally as casual, the two of them having learned to dress like Earthlings in order to blend in, wearing jeans, a shirt, and a jacket with his hair held back, an umbrella in hand. Loki, on the other hand, had gone for a crisp, all black suit.

"I swear, I left them right here," Loki was saying.

"Odin, I would believe," Athena remarked, "But even I could see you loved Frigga as a mother, enough that this would not be a place you would leave her."

"Yes, well, she refused to be separated from the Allfather," Loki muttered, with a forced disinterest.

Athena shook her head at him, "And here I thought at least Frigga would be safe from your anger and hatred."

Loki shot her a dark look for that before focusing back on the building. None of them would understand. Odin had come out of the Odinsleep he'd sent the king into, but too weak. It had failed him, Frigga had been distraught, Odin was in no state to rule Asgard even with her help and she refused to rule in his place. So he had sent them both to Earth, Frigga refused to allow Odin to go on his own, had threatened to reveal his ruse, and he'd had no other choice but to send them together. Frigga had known, of course she had, that he had taken Odin's spot, she had agreed to keep up the ruse, not wanting her home to be seen as weak with the king indisposed and the Queen unwilling to leave his side. She had thought, he was sure, that ruling unquestioned would give him a rude awakening of what it meant to rule and that he would give the throne up or that Odin would retake the throne when he'd woken. But that was not what happened at all, he was born to rule, and rule he had. When Odin was so weak that it was clear he would not survive much longer, he'd been merciful and cast him out of Asgard so as not to cripple his kingdom or cause dissent among the people with two Odins running around.

He should have just executed the man and been done with it all. Surely he could explain any outburst of Frigga's as madness...

"You left them right here on the sidewalk?" Thor spoke, "Or right there, where the building that's being demolished? Great planning."

Loki rolled his eyes, "How was I supposed to know? Can't see into the future. I'm not a witch."

"Then why do you dress like one?" Thor countered, before shaking his head, a feeling of nostalgia hitting him at their bickering. It was something he had thought lost to him forever when he'd seen what he thought to be Loki's death. But there he was, his brother, back from the dead and standing before him, bickering with him like when they were children, "I can't believe you're alive. I saw you die. I mourned you, I cried for you…"

"He did," Athena confirmed.

"I'm honored," was Loki's dry remark…before two girls rushed over asking for a picture with Thor and Athena, making him roll his eyes especially when they began commenting on how cute a couple Thorena were, whatever the hell 'Thorena' was.

Athena gave the girls a light smile as they hurried on their way, when a shimmer caught her attention to the side, "Loki!" she called in warning, seeing the sidewalk just underneath him starting to glow.

"What are you doing!?" Thor demanded as a golden circle of ancient symbols appeared.

"This...isn't me!" Loki defended, before he seemed to drop right through the concrete and vanish.

Thor lunged forward but only stumbled past a few steps. Athena quickly crouched down by the block, her hand reaching out to touch the stone when a card appeared. She quickly picked it up, holding it out to Thor to see an address, 177A Bleecker Street, written on it.

~8~

Thor and Athena cautiously approached 177A Bleecker Street. They hadn't pulled their weapons just yet, not sure if the person who would be on the other side of the door was hostile or a friend. They could be ab enemy…but they HAD taken Loki of all people. Thor was of the mind that he would be more likely to go to war had Athena been taken, and she agreed had he been taken instead. Also, an enemy was not as likely to merely leave a note for them. If they had the power to steal Loki away, an enemy could have attacked them easily yet they hadn't.

Thor glanced at Athena as they stepped up to the door. She gave a firm nod and he knocked twice. Before he could even move for a third knock, they were suddenly transported to within the building, or so they assumed. One minute they were standing at the door, the next they were in an old fashioned parlor of some sort.

"Thor Odinson, God of Thunder," a voice spoke from a dark corner, a man levitating as he drifted towards them, slim, with graying black hair, and a red cape, "And the great Athene, goddess of Wisdom," the man eyed Thor, "You can put down the umbrella."

Athena looked over to see that Thor had lifted his umbrella in defense as though a sword. He sent a look at her and slowly lowered it, setting it down. They blinked and it seemed like the room they were in had suddenly furnished itself.

"I was unaware Earth had wizards," Athena remarked, eyeing the man closely.

"The preferred term is 'Master of the Mystic Arts,'" the man corrected.

"Alright wizard, who are you?" Thor demanded, "And why should we care?"

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange," he introduced, "And I have some questions for you. Take a seat."

In another blink of the eye, all three of them found themselves sitting in high-backed chairs.

"Tea?" Strange asked, and suddenly there were small teacups in their hands.

"I don't drink tea," Thor remarked.

"What do you drink?"

"Not tea."

"Nor I any beverage a stranger offers," Athena agreed, sending Thor an almost chastising look when a stein of beer appeared in his hand in place of tea, the man actually about to start drinking it till he caught her look and set it aside.

"Very wise," Strange murmured, giving her a nod of his head as though she'd lived up to something or passed some sort of test, "So I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world. Your adopted brother Loki is one of these beings."

"He's a worthy inclusion," Thor stated.

"Then why bring him here?"

"He has displaced the king and queen of Asgard," Athena informed the man, "Only he knows where they are…or were," she muttered the last part.

Strange nodded his head, "If you were to tell you where Odin and Frigga were," he began, earning a glare of suspicion from Thor at how the man knew their names, "All parties concerned would promptly return to Asgard?"

"Promptly," Thor promised.

"Great. Then I'll help you."

Thor frowned, "If you knew where they were, why didn't you call me?"

"I have to tell you, they were adamant that they not be disturbed. Your father especially said he had chosen to remain in exile, your mother refused to leave him," he paused a moment, another thought striking him, "And you don't have a phone."

"No, I don't have a phone, but you could have sent an electronic letter. It's called an email."

"Which is of little help since you do not possess a computer either," Athena pointed out.

"Whatever reason Loki gave to exile my parents," Thor began, getting back on point, "It was a lie. They are no longer in exile. So if you could tell me where they are, I can take them home."

Strange nodded, "Gladly. They're in Norway," he stood, and suddenly they were all standing by a bookcase as the man plucked one from the shelf to rifle through it, "I'm just seeing whether this incantation requires any Asgardian modifications…nope."

Within another blink, they were across the room at a small work station…the bookshelf following them there as Thor had been holding onto it to steady himself from the sudden change of sitting to standing.

"Oh, we don't need that," Strange continued. Athena watched, startled as Thor was back across the room in an instant, not having thought to let go of the case, books falling off of it from the jolt.

"Will you stop doing that?" Thor shouted, though his voice was full of a queasy note.

"I need just one strand of your hair," Strange ignored him.

"Let me explain something, my hair is not to be meddled wi…ow!" Thor cried, his hand leaping to his head as Strange appeared behind him, already having pulled a piece of hair from his head.

"And you," Strange began, looking to Athena, a second strand would strengthen the portal he planned to make more.

A moment later, Thor started laughing.

Strange had tried to teleport behind her, but she had been expecting it after watching how he used his magic for the last few minutes. She'd not only caught his hand as it had reached for her hair, but had also pulled her sword from her back and held it to just under his chin.

"If you stop that," she told him, the man seeming genuinely startled that she'd caught him, "I will willingly give you a strand of hair. Understood?"

Strange blinked and nodded slowly, taking a step back from her. Athena withdrew her sword and put it back, reaching up to pull a strand of hair out and hand to him. She looked to the side as Thor came up next to her, draping an arm around her shoulder with a smug grin at Strange, nodding slowly as though gloating at her being able to get one up on the odd man.

Strange rolled his eyes at Thor but began to fiddle with the hair, a faint glow signaling how he was infusing them with magic. With a few more gestures, there was a bright light and they were standing at the base of a set of stairs. Or at least Athena and Strange were, Thor ended up rolling down them.

"I thought we had an understanding," Athena sent a glare at Strange as she moved to help Thor up.

Strange just smirked, "One last go," was all he said, waving his hand to open a portal through which they could see a peaceful meadow through, "They're waiting for you."

Thor eyed the portal, "Alright…"

"Don't forget your umbrella."

"Yes," Thor agreed, holding out his hand and waiting, wincing slightly as a series of crashing noises sounded, before the umbrella flew right into his grip, "Sorry."

"We will be needing Loki back," Athena reminded the odd man, "He needs to answer for his crimes."

"Yeah, right," Strange muttered, looking to the side as a scream sounded and Loki fell out of a portal from the ceiling, landing with a thump on the ground.

"...I have been falling...for thirty minutes!" Loki snapped, scrambling to his feet to glare at Strange.

But the man ignored him and focused on Thor and Athena instead, "You can handle him from here?"

"Yeah, of course," he held out a hand and shook Strange's, "Thank you very much for your help."

"Good luck."

"Handle me?" Loki scoffed, approaching them, "Who are you?"

"Loki…" Thor warned.

Loki merely drew a dagger, ready and very willing to attack Strange, "You think you're some kind of sorcerer? Don't think for one minute, you second-rate..."

Athena rolled her eyes and quickly reached out to jab at Loki's side, at his ribs, with a fist, causing him to hunch over, winded.

Strange smirked at that and gestured at the portal.

Thor nodded and grabbed Loki by the arm, half dragging his brother through the portal, Athena right behind him…

~8~

The meadow they'd seen through the portal was truly breathtaking, beautiful, almost untouched by time. It reminded Athena, vaguely, of the last good memories she had of visiting Earth, before the Dark Days began. Timeless and wonderful, the sound of the ocean waves nearby.

"Father?" Thor called out, his attention drawn to something other than the scenery, "Mother?"

Athena looked up to see two figures standing beside each other at the edge of the meadow, which dropped off into a steep cliff. It was Odin and Frigga, she could see it, both of them dressed humbly in human clothing. Odin in something of a casual white suit, Frigga in a lovely, flowing grey dress.

"Look at this place," Odin breathed as the three slowly approached.

"It is beautiful," Frigga murmured.

"Father, it's us…" Thor began cautiously, not sure if whatever enchantment Loki had placed on them was still working. The only way his father and mother wouldn't try to come back to Asgard would be if they didn't remember it anymore, there was no other way.

The two turned to face them, smiles on their faces.

"Thor," Frigga greeted, "Loki."

"My sons," Odin agreed, "We've been waiting for you."

Athena didn't miss the look of surprise on Loki's face when Odin referred to BOTH of them as his sons, especially given how their last interaction had gone.

"We know," Thor stepped closer, "We've come to take you home."

"Home…yes…"

"It wasn't an enchantment," Frigga spoke up, seeing how Thor cast a suspicious look at Loki for the obvious hesitance in Odin's voice, "We chose to remain here."

"I don't understand," Thor shook his head.

"Come," Odin gestured over to a series of stones, sitting on one with Frigga next to him, the woman clutching his hand and looking at him in concern at how out of breath he was, how weak he appeared to be just from that action.

Frigga took a shaking breath, looking at the three before her, "Please," she gestured at the stones, "I fear there is not much time left."

"What has happened?" Athena looked between the two rulers.

"Nothing but time."

Thor swallowed hard, mistaking her words for a criticism of how long he and Athena had been away and not helping within Asgard, "I know that we failed you, but we can make this right…"

"No," Odin shook his head, "It was _I_ that failed _you_ ," he sighed, looking out into the distance, "It is upon us...Ragnarok."

"No, Athena and I have stopped Ragnarok. We put an end to Surtur."

"I am afraid it has already begun," Frigga told them sadly

"She's coming," Odin sighed, weary, gripping Frigga's hand tightly, "My life was all that held her back, but my time has come. I cannot keep her away any longer."

Athena frowned at that, "Who are you talking about?" she looked between Frigga and Odin, honestly lost, which was not helping Thor's temperament any to know even she was concerned.

"The Goddess of Death," Odin answered.

Athena tensed at that, knowing that while not many gave those who controlled the realms of the afterlife much thought, they often were, true to their names, the most deadly of the gods. Not in the true danger they possessed, but in the armies they could call upon. She had seen her uncle create soldiers from the dead, truly the most difficult enemy to defeat. They were unlike regular warriors, they followed no logic, they made no patterns in their attack, they went to battle mindlessly and no matter how much they were hacked apart, parts of them would continue to fight. They could take fallen soldiers and raise them into their own army. They were almost impossible to stop...

"Hela," Frigga added softly, pulling Athena's attention back, "Our daughter."

"Our first born," Odin looked at Thor, "Your sister."

"What?" Thor could only shake his head, turning to look at Loki and Athena for any guidance, but both looked equally stunned.

"We tried to help her," Frigga murmured, tears in her eyes.

"Her violent appetites grew beyond our control," Odin continued, "We couldn't stop her, so I imprisoned her. Locked her away. She draws her strength from Asgard...and once she gets there, her powers will be limitless."

Thor shook his head, "Whatever she is, we can stop her. We can face her together."

Odin reached out to take his son's hand, "No, we won't. I'm on a different path now. This you must face alone."

Thor gripped his hand tightly as Odin struggled to breathe, and looked to Frigga, "Mother?"

She gave him the saddest smile he had ever seen on her face, "I go with your father," she told him, "My heart could not bear to be without him."

Odin gave Frigga an equally sad smile, to know that she had been saved from one death at the hands of the Dark Elves, only to join him in his own demise of age, "I love you, my queen," he told her. He turned to look at the others, "And I love you my sons," his smile was kind as he took in Athena, the tears in her eyes for his own suffering and the pain she knew this would bring Thor, "My daughter."

Athena gasped lightly at that, Thor instantly reaching for her hand, to know that, in his final hour, Odin truly did accept their courtship, that he approved of her as a future queen.

"For the briefest of instances, family may share a quiet moment together."

"Look, my love," Frigga spoke gently, nodding Odin's attention to the rays of the sun as they streamed down through the clouds and onto the ocean, a truly beautiful sight.

Odin smiled at the scene, "Remember this place. Home."

"Be well, my children," Frigga offered as one final word…before a warm glow overtook her and Odin in turn.

The three could only watch as Odin and Frigga, rulers of Asgard, began to fade into stardust and drift into the sky. Athena turned, tugging Thor closer to wind her arms around him, offering him her comfort as he mourned the loss of his parents…when the wind picked up suddenly, the sky darkening too quickly to be natural.

They stood, Thor's gaze going right to Loki, his expression murderous.

"Thor…" Athena began.

"Brother," Loki tried.

But Thor advanced on him, not seeming to notice the electricity crackling around his closed fists, "This was your doing!"

"Another time!" Athena shouted over the ever increasing wind, "Thor!"

He spun around, seeing a crack had formed in the air a few feet away from them, what looked like a swirling black portal starting to open. Thor quickly slammed his umbrella into the ground, using the power of the disguised Mjolnir to transform into his Asgardian armor. Athena pulled her shield and sword from her back, bashing her sword on the front of her shield to trigger her own transformation into her armor as Loki used his magic to do the same.

There was a scream through the air as a figure was hurtled out of the portal, stumbling but catching themselves before they fell. They watched as the portal closed, and the figure straightened, a woman, tall and slim, dressed in black leather with long dark hair and very light eyes surrounded by dark make up.

The woman, Hela for it could be no other, looked around, taking in her new surroundings, "So he's gone?" she asked them, not even waiting for an answer, "That's a shame," she added, sounding like she was anything but sad, "I would've liked to have seen that."

"I take it you are Hela," Athena commented through the tense moment.

"I am," the woman smirked.

"I'm Thor, son of Odin," Thor began…but Hela cut him off with a laugh.

"Really? You don't look like him."

"Perhaps we can reach an arrangement," Loki tried.

Hela smirked, "You sound like him."

Athena glanced at the other men, seeing Loki shifting almost nervously at the comparison, while Thor just tightened his grip on Mjolnir.

"Kneel," Hela demanded.

Athena snorted at that, even as Loki was the one to answer, "Beg your pardon?"

Hela held out a hand, a black blade forming in her grip, "Kneel…before your Queen."

"I don't think so," Thor called, swinging Mjolnir and hurling it right at the woman…

Only for her to reach out and grab it out of the air as though it weighed nothing.

Thor stared in shock for a moment before reaching out a hand to try and call the hammer back, Mjolnir trembling in the air, fighting to escape Hela, but unable to get out of her grasp until Thor stopped.

Athena shook her head, "That shouldn't be possible…" she breathed, never having heard anything like this happening with Thor's hammer before.

Hela laughed, "Darling, you have no idea what's possible."

The sinister grin on Hela's face only increased as she squeezed the hammer in her grasp, cracks starting to appear along it…

Until Mjolnir shattered completely…

A/N: Did anyone else shout when that happened? I was like 'OMG!' in the theater lol :)

I feel like, the situation with Strange, Athena definitely would have been able to catch him before he took her hair. She's been watching how he uses his magic, she can guess where he'll appear...and let's not forget her brother, Hermes, is one of the fastest gods on Olympus so she probably has loads of experience with him trying to pull tricks on the other gods with his speed ;)

I hope you all liked the little Clint-Natasha-Budapest shoutout in the last chapter ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm so glad you're all excited for the story! I really hope you'll all enjoy what is coming ;)

That's definitely something I wanted to do with this story is try to explore the more serious/thoughtful aspects going on in the background. I loved Ragnarok, but I really enjoyed Thor being this mature, old-fashioned sort of man in the other movies so I was a little thrown off by how comical it all was :/ It was a great movie, but felt really disjointed from the rest of the series, so I'm going to be trying to add in more serious notes and take time to have Athena or others react to the comedy by bringing it back around to trying to understand why it's happening that way and so on ;)


	3. Sakaar

Sakaar

Athena lifted her shield from the shockwave of energy the broken hammer sent out, though she slid back a few feet, Thor and Loki hadn't fared as well, being thrown back without having anything to block the burst. She could see Thor was completely stunned and stupefied at how easily his hammer had been destroyed by Hela. But he scrambled to his feet, ready to fight nonetheless when he saw Hela using her own magic to turn her hair into a spiked battle headdress.

Athena quickly scanned the woman, trying to take in as much as she could, looking for any possible weaknesses the woman might possess and taking stock of everything she knew about the woman so far. Strength, yes, perhaps even more than what Thor possessed. She knew of the hammer, she knew Asgard, she knew how to stop it. She was clearly ready for battle and cared little for anyone else besides herself, that much was clear in her reaction to Odin and Frigga's passing. She shed not a tear, uttered no truly mournful word. Athena could see madness in the woman's eyes, far more than had ever been in Loki's, and there was a coldness there.

Thor would not be able to appeal to the woman's bond to him by blood or family tie this time. Loki had a chance of being reasoned with, he had grown up with Thor, she firmly believed there was still some sort of sibling bond there, a softness, as buried and small as it might be. Loki had some sort of care for Thor, or Thor would have been dead several times over by now. Hela had no such bond, she had likely been banished long before Thor or Loki came around or else they would have remembered her, she had no family or fond memories to play to, but instead a vengeance and a thirst for power that could surpass even Loki.

And she was a goddess of death. She had seen it in her uncle, and in her cousin, when the Dark Days set in, just how cruel they could become. Being so entrenched in death, living in such a dark and hopeless domain, having the power over paradise or never ending torture? She had been ruthless when it came to battle, she would take out any enemy that stood in her way, reveling in how powerful it made her feel to cut down her opponents with such ease, but the way those who dealt power over Death itself handled their power? They could take life far more easily than any other...and regret it far less when everything was over. This was not going to be an easy battle to win.

Which was something Loki seemed to realize as he shook his head and stood, shouting up to the sky, "Bring us back!"

"No!" Thor and Athena cried, knowing he was trying to open the Bifrost, wanting to return to Asgard which was exactly where Hela wanted to go, where Odin had warned them never to let her return. If she set foot on Asgard, and Odin was to be believed, there was no telling just how powerful she might become.

Hela ran at them, looking as though she were charging them, but Athena knew she was trying to make it to the Bifrost in time. She rushed at the woman, trying to stop her but the Bifrost opened, sucking them upwards. She managed to swing at Hela from within the beam, sending her falling only a few feet as Thor reached down to grab her arm and haul her up, away from his sister. It was no use though, Hela was quickly catching up to them, clearly having traveled by way of the Bifrost before.

Loki, to his credit, tried to throw two daggers at the woman, landing a blow and stalling her, but it only served to make her more enraged and she crashed into him, plowing past him with such force that he was knocked out of the Bifrost.

"Loki!" Thor shouted after his brother.

Athena gripped Thor's forearm tighter, knowing that, the way Hela was heading for them, it was either to kill or throw them out as well. While she knew they could likely find some way back to Asgard from wherever they landed, it would be easier to do it with a partner, if she and Thor could just remain together...

Hela seemed to realize what was happening and conjured a grappling hook to her hands, using it to grab hold of Thor and yank him towards her.

Thor looked to Athena as they were pulled closer, his glance moving to her sword and back, squeezing her arm. She gripped her sword tighter and nodded. As soon as they were close enough, Thor pulled his legs in and shot them out, kicking Hela in the chest with both his feet just as Athena swung her sword down on the rope pulling them. She was sure he intended to kick Hela out of the Bifrost, but the woman was like stone, and, instead, they were sent flying out into the darkness of space…

~8~

Athena and Thor struggled with all their might to keep their grip on each other as they spun through a series of wormholes, getting sucked into one and nearly shot out of another, but they managed. They screamed as they headed for a planet that loomed in the dark of space, hurtling towards it and falling without slowing down at all. Athena lifted her shield, bracing for impact as best she could while still holding onto her sword…

They hit the surface of the planet, sending up a massive cloud of dust and creating quite a deep crater in the ground.

They fell away from each other from the force of the impact, groaning and disoriented as they rolled through various pieces of metal and stone. Athena bit her lip as she slowed to a stop, turning as quickly as she was able to try and leap to her feet, only to find herself too winded. She punched the ground, using the force of it to help push herself up, but managed only to roll onto her back. She panted, her body aching from the fall, and took a few deep breaths, taking mental stock of her potential injuries. Being what she was, she could endure injury better than most. A mere mortal would have been killed by the landing, but she was no mere mortal.

She gasped when she heard a thud a few feet away to see what appeared to be a piece of debris, a large metal object, falling there, Thor only just missing its impact as he rolled away.

"Thor," she called weakly, winded from the fall, unable to muster the strength to rush to him just yet but needing to know he was still there and relatively unharmed.

"I'm alright," he called, though his voice was pained as well, muffled from being on the other side of the debris.

Athena's head snapped to the side, hearing another thud, to see a piece of stone something had fallen a short distance away from her too. A quick look up revealed that more and more debris of some kind was heading for them. She pushed herself up the same time as Thor did, the man seeing the same thing, and they looked around, trying to find a safe place to go. But there was nowhere, they were surrounded by piles of trash and broken objects.

"This way!" Thor called, leading the way as he ran up the top of a nearby dune, the highest one he could find, reaching out to help Athena up after him as the dune began to give way under her foot, catching her.

From there they could see more of the planet they'd landed on. There was a beach below them, but the rest of the surface looked like a wasteland, dunes piled high of space junk. And there, across the ocean, was a large wormhole, giant and swirling with smoke and lightning storms.

They flinched, ducking down slightly as a noise sounded above them, a huge, rectangular ship was hauling what looked like a sopping wet vessel from the ocean. They could just make out short, almost humanoid in shape, creatures wearing odd masks over their faces. The ship itself was blasting an odd music for all to hear. Though it clearly wasn't distracting enough for one of the creatures as they noticed Thor and Athena standing on the dune and began to signal frantically at its crew.

The ship turned to face them, a voice calling out, "Are you fighters or are you food?"

"We're just passing through," Thor replied.

"They are food," the voice determined, "On your knees."

Athena gripped her sword tighter, raising it, ready to fight, as Thor reached out a hand to summon Mjolnir to him, a bitter realization dawning on him at the reflex, knowing that the hammer was not going to come to his hand ever again.

The ship turned, a large gun looking object aiming at them and sending out a projectile right at the dune, sending them flying off of it and onto the ground. They rolled quickly, getting to their feet. Athena threw Thor her shield to block the nets and smaller projectiles the creatures began to launch at them, using her sword to try and knock some away from herself. She spun around, hearing a rustling noise to see more creatures rushing for them from the ground, clubs and sticks in their hands, ready to attack.

As they moved back to back, ready to take a stand, another ship flew overhead and landed haphazardly nearby, stilling the creatures. It was much different than the rectangular ship that had first spotted them, sleek and smaller, dangerous looking with 'Warsong' etched on the side of it. A moment later the hatch on the side opened, a gangplank extending, and woman with light brown skin and black hair strode down the ramp, a half-empty bottle of something in her hands that she chugged as she took them in. She was dressed in a silver sort of clothing, almost armor, two cuffs on her arms that went to her elbows. She wiped her mouth on her cuffs and smashed the bottle into the side of her ship.

"They're mine," the woman stated. She began to walk towards them…only to stumble to the side and fall off the gangplank into a pile of trash, clearly the liquid had been some sort of alcohol.

The creatures observed the woman a moment, before turning to try and grab at Thor and Athena, attempting to drag them away, but they swung the weapons they had, keeping them at bay.

"Wait!" the woman shouted again, staggering back to her feet and taking a deep breath to steady herself along with a hand to the carcass of some dead beast next to her, "I said!" she breathed a moment, "They're mine. So if you want them, you go through me."

The creatures didn't seem intimidated in the least, turning their weapons on the woman instead, "But we've already got them!" one called.

The woman banged her cuffs together, seeming to activate the arms of her own ship, its guns, "Alright then I guess I go through you," she turned her arms, holding them out, parallel to the ground, aiming the guns and clenching her fists to fire at the creatures, turning her arms to aim.

Thor reached out and grabbed Athena, the two ducking behind her shield in a manner Captain America would be proud of to avoid the bullets.

A moment later the attack was over and they slowly stood once more, looking around to see the creatures littering the ground, torn to shreds, the woman still walking towards them. From behind another pile, a large creature ran at her with a club, only for the woman to grab it and hurl the creature into the air behind her.

Athena frowned at that, observing the woman's strength, and glancing at Thor a moment, the strength was familiar, one she and Thor often exhibited on Earth…

"Thank you," Thor began when the woman was near enough, he had just turned to hand Athena back her shield when the woman used that moment of distraction to flick a small, glowing disc onto their necks.

"What…" Athena looked to her as the woman held up a small control and pressed a button, sending a jolt of pain racing through them, so powerful that it sent them both to their knees, stunned.

The woman observed them, before hitting the button again, triggering the device and another wave of pain until the world went black around them…

~8~

Athena groaned softly as she woke to find her and Thor crammed together in a small, spherical glass cell, hanging from what appeared to be the underside of the woman's ship. Thor shook violently as he woke too, looking to her to make sure she was alright before glaring up at the woman. Athena's eye narrowed as she watched the woman, noting how she piloted the ship, how she kept the control device to those disks locked on a belt at her waist.

"This is Scrapper 142," the woman called into a comm., "I need clearance and an audience with the boss. I've got something special."

"Where are you taking us?!" Thor demanded, but the woman, Scrapper 142, just ignored him, taking another long swing from a different bottle of alcohol, "Answer me!"

"Thor…" Athena tried to stop him, seeing 142 reaching for her control device.

"I am Thor, son of Odin. We need to get back to Asgard!"

"Many apologies, your majesty," 142 called, not sounding sorry at all as she zapped the both of them, leading the ship towards a large tower looming ahead of them.

Athena grit her teeth, breathing heavily through her nose at the surge of pain, though her gaze turned from calculating to suspicious. 'Your majesty?' Why would a scrapper on a distant land call Thor that? Odin might have been a legend, but this world was so far removed…and not every world knew of his presence. Not all believed he existed. So how would this random woman know to call Thor 'majesty' unless they also knew Odin was the king. And if they DID know Odin was king…which of the realms did she hail from?

~8~

Thor and Athena jolted awake, having endured two more rounds of 142's device to the point of blacking out, though it was something Athena was somewhat pleased about. It was taking the woman more rounds to get them that affected, they were building up a tolerance to the voltage and, soon she hoped, they would be immune to the device as well.

If only that meant they'd woken up sooner for now they were strapped to a chair as it began to move forward towards a dark tunnel.

"Athena…" Thor called to her, checking the restraints, struggling against them but they were holding even HIM in place.

"Thor," she responded, letting him know she'd woken as well and was with him, "They've taken my weapons."

She could vaguely recall seeing her sword and shield resting near 142 as she'd piloted that ship, but her affects were gone from her person now. They were defenseless at the moment, they needed to be careful.

Before Thor could say another word, the walls around them began to light up as a man's voice spoke over a speaker, their chairs starting to move through the tunnel the walls created.

"Fear not, for you are found. You are home, and there is no going back. No one leaves this place. But what is this place? The answer in Sakaar."

Athena frowned as the wall began to shift to images of the planet, its history.

"Surrounded by cosmic gateways, Sakaar lives on the edge of the known and unknown," and then the images shifted to wormholes, "It is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. Like you. But here on Sakaar, you are significant. You are valuable. Here, you are loved."

"What…the hell?" Thor muttered.

"My thoughts exactly," Athena grumbled.

"And no one loves you more than the Grandmaster," the voice continued, automated and not paying attention to what they'd said. The images on the wall changed though to that of this supposed Grandmaster, though it was merely his silhouette arriving on the planet, "He is the original. The first lost, and the first found. The creator of Sakaar and the father of the Contest of Champions," and then to images of an arena as aliens fought to the death, "Where once you were nothing, now you are something. You are the property of the Grandmaster. Congratulations! You will meet the Grandmaster in five seconds."

Athena groaned as the images began to speed up, blurring into a mess of chaos and colors and noise, "This reminds me of when Morpheus got drunk during a festival of Dionysus."

Suddenly the face of an older man with greying hair and blue lips appeared, "Prepare yourself. Prepare yourself. You are now meeting the Grandmaster!"

The chairs sped up, thrusting them forward, until they stopped so suddenly Athena felt her stomach churn at the movement. They were in a new room now, numerous aliens wandering around in odd garb, guards dressed in insane attire that was not conducive to actually guard in set along the walls. A pair of women with golden skin loitered by a table of food. A moment later music sounded, playing lightly in the background.

And, before them, stood the same man from the pictures just before, tall, slim, in brightly colored robes laced with gold, his lips still blue, his hair gray, smiling ta them. Though the way he eyed them, he clearly didn't have any idea what to make of them, appearing both curious, revolted, thrilled, and disappointed at the same time. Beside him was a woman, shorter than him, a little plump, in armor and holding a spear. On his other side was 142, looking bored.

The Grandmaster stared at them for an uncomfortably long time, leaning in to examine Thor, then doing the same to Athena. He reached out and touched her hair, ignoring Thor's growling noise and how the man struggled in his restraints. Athena glared at him dangerously…which, for some reason, just made him beam at the two of them and shout, "They're wonderful! Ooh, one of each to add to my collection…it IS one of each right?" he looked between them critically, "It's the hair, you're supposed to judge from the hair right?" he looked between his guard and 142, both of whom just remained impassive, "I can't really tell?" he turned his attention back, reaching out to touch Thor's hair, glancing back and forth as though comparing his length to Athena's.

"One of each," 142 confirmed, "One he, one she."

"Yay," he cheered, turning to 142 fully, "I love when you come to visit 142, you bring me the best stuff," before he looked to his guard, "Whenever we get to talking, Topaz, about Scrapper 142...what do I always say? 'She is the...' and it starts with a B…"

"Trash," the guard, Topaz, blurted with no hesitation.

The Grandmaster frowned, "No, not trash. Were you waiting just to call her that? It doesn't start with a B!"

"Boozehead."

The Grandmaster sighed and gave 142 an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry," and focused on correcting Topaz, "No, 'best.' I was thinking about 'best,'" and swapped back to 142 again, "Because I always say you're the best," then to Topaz once more, "She brought me my precious beloved Champion, you know."

Athena looked at Thor at that, giving him an expression that clearly reflected her disbelief that they had been captured and were being held by a man as insane and clearly inept as the man before them. Thor could only nod his head, he was ashamed of himself as well. But he supposed it happened to every great warrior at one point or another, their pride got the best of them and they underestimated someone. He was sure, had it been the Grandmaster himself that had tried to take them down, they could have easily defeated him, but 142 had been an unknown, they'd made the mistake of seeing her as an ally for her help freeing them from those creatures. A mistake they would not make again.

"You say that every time she's here," Topaz stated, completely deadpanned.

"What have you brought today?" the man grinned at 142, "Tell me."

142 smirked at them, "Contenders."

"Contenders for what?" Athena demanded. She could guess, very well what they'd be contending for. It was clear in their little introduction to the planet. There was an arena, a competition of sorts, a battle, and they were to face some sort of champion or other contenders. But just because SHE knew that, didn't mean she wanted them to know she'd worked it out. Best to keep an advantage to yourself especially in the face of an enemy.

It was what Thor had done with Surtur, play helpless and moronic to distract him, never letting on that they'd had something of a plan.

The Grandmaster didn't answer, merely remarked, "I need to go closer. I want a closer look at this…"

Athena nearly grimaced, thinking of how close the man had gotten before and the idea he was going to be even nearer to their faces now.

He got so close he was nearly nose to nose with them, and gave Thor a deep sniff, before he nodded, stepping back, "Pay this lady."

"Just wait a damn minute!" Thor nearly snarled, "We're not for sale!" he let out a mighty roar as he struggled against his restraints, ignoring Athena's warning of 'Thor!', revealing his strength as he managed to break out of the shackles.

142, still seeming completely unfazed by the entire situation, just lifted her device and pressed it, sending another jolt of pain through them. Athena bit her lip to refrain from crying out, now somewhat familiar with the sensation, though it was enough to stop Thor from continuing his attempts. She wasn't sure if it was the pain that was getting to him, or the fact that each time HE acted out SHE was sentenced to the pain as well. Thor never wanted to hurt her or see her in pain, despite their lives as warriors of their people, if he realized his actions were causing her to be punished too, she had no doubts he would stop.

"Ooh, he is a fighter!" the Grandmaster seemed inordinately pleased by that.

"She came with weapons," 142 added, tossing a small pack she'd held over her shoulder to the ground at the man's feet, revealing Athena's sword and shield.

"Excellent!" the Grandmaster cheered, though he took a step back from the weapons as though they were contaminated with some sort of despicable disease, "Can we do something about this? It's scuffing up my floor..."

Topaz nodded and gestured for two guards to come and collect Athena's weapons, taking them off somewhere and ignoring her as she shouted and cursed after them.

"I'd take 10 million," 142 continued, "Each."

The guard snorted, "Tell her she's dreaming."

The Grandmaster just rolled his eyes, "For heaven's sake, transfer the units."

Topaz glared at 142, who smirked smugly in return, and tapped something onto her wrist, a computerized gauntlet of sorts, doing as commanded. 142 just turned and walked off.

"You'll pay for this!" Thor shouted after her.

The woman just looked back at him, still walking backwards, "No I got PAID for _this_ ," she shot back.

Thor growled again and struggled to lift the arm he'd freed from the restraints to claw at the disc on his neck, trying to pry it off. He managed to do so for only a moment, but the pain was even more excruciating and, hearing Athena's own screams, caused him to let go. Now it was confirmed that it wasn't just the control 142 held that hurt both of them. The devices themselves seemed to be connected. When one triggered, no matter the reason, the other did as well.

Athena tensed when she saw the Grandmaster hold up a control device of his own, fearing that he was going to activate the discs as well, but he merely smiled and pressed a button, waving it at them and getting the chairs to suddenly hover in the air and follow him as he began to give something of a tour.

"Here's what I wanna know," the man began to speak, Topaz following beside him, "Who are you? Uh, uh," he tutted as Thor opened his mouth to snap a response, "Ladies first," he sent Athena a wink that had her grimacing at the gesture.

"Athena," she stated, "Daughter of Zeus, goddess of Battle," she was far more than just the goddess of battle, but best to keep the 'wisdom' part to herself for now. When people knew you were clever or wise, they were constantly on the lookout around you, constantly thinking if they said too much, she would work out all their plans. They'd be right.

"Nice to meet you Tina," the Grandmaster commented, turning to Thor before she could correct him about her name, "And you big boy?"

Thor glared at him, "I am Thor, Odinson, the God of THUNDER!"

The Grandmaster watched as Thor thrust his arm in the air, his hand in a fist…only for the tiniest bit of static electricity to crackle across his knuckles, "…wow…I didn't hear any thunder, but out of your fingers, was that like...sparkles?"

"We located your cousin," Topaz suddenly cut in, stopping Thor from making a remark about his true power.

The Grandmaster spun on his heel, his expression now gleeful, "Oh good!" he cheered, nodding at Topaz in thanks before he glanced at the two gods beside him, "Yeah, come on. I think you're gonna like this."

Thor and Athena glanced at each other, unable to do much besides follow the man over to where another man was waiting, strapped to a chair just like they were, though clearly a great deal more terrified than them.

"There he is!" the Grandmaster cheered, "Hey, cuz. We almost couldn't find you. What, have you been hiding?"

Athena frowned as the man glanced at them, literally cowering where he sat, looking more fearful of the Grandmaster than she could imagine anyone being given how aloof and a goof he appeared to be.

"Hi?" Thor offered when the man kept looking at them.

He just burst into tears.

"So..." the Grandmaster began, giving him a pointed look.

"Please," his cousin begged, "I'm sorry!"

"Carlo," the Grandmaster sighed, "I pardon you."

"Thank you. Thank you!"

The Grandmaster nodded, enjoying the thanks and praise for a moment, "You're officially pardoned...from life."

Thor and Athena could only watch as the Grandmaster took Topaz's spear and jabbed it into his cousin's abdomen…melting all the flesh right off the man's bones as Carlo screamed in pain, right up until his vocal cords melted along with him.

"Oh, my god!" Thor shouted in alarm, grimacing as what was left of Carlo's liquefied remains began to spread across the floor towards the Grandmaster.

Athena could only make a disgusted look, "Alright…almost exactly like that festival for Dionysus now…"

"I'm stepping in it!" the Grandmaster soon realized, stepping back from the remains, "I'm stepping in it. Look out!"

"Oh, the smell," Thor nearly gagged, absolutely disgusted.

"I've smelled worse," Athena murmured, though it didn't make the situation any better. Smelling Hephaestus and his Cyclops attendants after a long day at the forge? Topped this any day. Though Ares after a battle was a close second…and still worse than the smell of a melted Carlo.

The Grandmaster paused at their words and took a deep sniff, "What does it smell like?"

"Burnt toast," Topaz answered, a little too quickly.

"What happened to my manners? I haven't properly introduced myself. Come on. Follow me," he handed Topaz back her spear and began to walk off again, signaling the hover chairs to follow after him once more.

They drifted along, till they reached the next room which seemed more for entertainment, a group of odd looking musicians playing equally odd looking instruments in the corner as people lounged around and spoke to each other.

The Grandmaster smiled and moved to something of a piano-like device, playing a soft melody along with the existing music, "My name is Grandmaster," he introduced, as though they hadn't already worked it out from the introduction earlier, "I preside over a little harlequinade called the Contest of Champions. People come from far and wide to unwillingly participate in it. And you, my friends, might just be part of the new cast. What do you say to that?"

"I say we are certainly NOT friends," Athena glared at him.

"And we don't give a shit about your games!" Thor agreed, "We are going back to Asgard!"

The Grandmaster looked over at them, not even halting in the music he was playing, "Ass-gard?" he asked, amused by the world they hailed from, though the melody drew his attention back, "One, two, three, four…"

Athena frowned at the music, looking around as the man truly got very into the song, so much so that the guards and various guests appeared to be drawn in as well, all of them swaying to beat. She had seen revelry before, Apollo's festivals were famous for their music, for the trance some of his followers fell into whenever he played, worshipers of him were often the most gifted musicians…she had heard better than what the Grandmaster was playing and yet all his people seemed taken in by it.

Thor followed her gaze, looking in at the numerous people who were now distracted by the music…and then he saw it, saw HIM in the middle of a conversation with other odd aliens.

There, dressed in similar garb as the rest...was Loki!

A/N: Poor Thor and Athena, caught by Valkyrie. I actually hadn't noticed that Valkyrie called Thor 'your majesty' until I was writing this chapter and was like 'wait, HOW would a scrapper have known his lineage?' which was something I feel like Athena would have noticed too :) So...Valkyrie knows of Thor, but does she know Athena? }:)

Some notes on reviews...

The chapter was so sad, it killed me to write. Especially because of how close Athena came to dying to save Frigga and now it was sort of almost for nothing in the sense she's gone anyway :( Strange and his wisdom in relation to Athena being the goddess of wisdom is definitely going to come up again in Infinity War and its second part, but I won't say how ;) At the moment, my game plan is to catch Thor up to Infinity War, then probably catch up a Star Trek story, and then get to Loki and Kona. But I've been really debating alternating a Steve/OC story in the mix, like after I finish this story I'd do Steve's The First Avenger, then Thor's Infinity War, then Steve's Avengers, then a Star Trek story, then Steve's Winter Soldier, and then get to Loki, but I'm not 100 percent sure what I'll be doing just yet ;)

I'm leaning a little more towards doing the Steve/OC after this story, just to add a little more anticipation to Athena's next story. But I might put it up to a vote on my profile or on my tumblr and get a better idea of what readers would like too :)

I'm glad you're excited for Steve's OC, it does make sense to sort of hold off and not get everything all caught up at once, to give a breather between stories. That way it also isn't just an endless stretch of Steve's OC for 6 stories straight, but a little more variety. I'm definitely going to be thinking a lot about it :)


	4. Prisoners

Prisoners

Loki was truly there, lounging about and extolling a few interested listeners with what seemed like a tale of how he'd landed on the planet, "There was a wormhole in space and time beneath me. At that moment, I let go…"

"Loki?" Thor called, almost stunned that his brother was actually there. Athena was shocked as well, but more so that, of all the wormholes Loki fell through, he'd gone through the same ones as them to end up there, "Loki! Over here!"

Loki glanced out at the sound of his name being called and blanched at the sight of Thor and Athena, before he smirked, realizing they were quite literally tied up. He politely excused himself from those he was speaking to and rose, making his way over to them.

"Loki," Athena hissed, glancing at the Grandmaster who seemed still distracted with his music, "What are you…"

"Shhhh," Loki quieted them, taking them in. It was clear, despite how they were holding up that they'd been through quite a journey for as beaten up as they looked and how dirty their clothing, "So you're alive then," he muttered, not having known where they'd gone after he'd been thrown out of the Bifrost, not knowing if they'd made it to Asgard. Though, given their state, he'd assumed they'd been cast out of the bridge as well.

"Yes, of course we're alive," Thor glared at him, noting an almost disappointed note in Loki's voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what are we doing?"

"We were cast out of the Bifrost," Athena told him, "Moments after you were, and now we're here."

"Stuck in these stupid chairs," Thor grumbled, "Where's your chair?"

"I didn't get a chair," he stated.

"Then get us out of these."

"I can't."

"Of course you can't," Athena rolled her eyes at the same time that Thor demanded, "What?!"

Loki's glance darted to the Grandmaster for a moment and back to them, "I've made friends with this man. He's called the Grandmaster."

"Oh, he's crazy!"

Loki nodded, not disagreeing with his brother's words, "I've gained his favor. The Bifrost brought me out here weeks ago."

Athena frowned at that, "Weeks ago?"

"We JUST got here," Thor added, equally as startled to learn that.

"What are you whispering about?" a voice spoke, causing all of them to jump, even Athena who hadn't heard the Grandmaster approach as it seemed like he suddenly appeared beside them. The man smiled at that, pleased with the reaction, "Time works real different around these parts…"

Athena's frown increased at that, thinking back to how similar his sudden appearance was to that Dr. Strange man they'd encountered. He had been able to randomly appear as well, gone one instant, there another, moving them about with him. Perhaps that man had some sort of control over time as well…

"On any other world, I'd be like millions of years old," the Grandmaster continued, "But here on Sakaar..." he held out his arms and grinned down at himself, before smirking at Loki, "In any case, you know this..." and then turned back to Thor and Athena, "You call yourself Lord of Thunder?"

"GOD of Thunder," Thor corrected even as Athena let out a deep sigh at that, at how he was boasting his power and not making it easy to create an underestimation of himself, "Tell him!" he insisted to Loki.

Loki shook his head, "I've never met this man in my life."

Athena snorted at that even as Thor ground out a, "He's my brother."

"Adopted," Loki corrected.

The Grandmaster looked at them and back to Loki, seeing his knowledge of the two people before him, "Is he any kind of a fighter?" Loki shrugged and wiggled his hand in a so-so manner, "And the other one? The not-him one? What was it, Tina?"

Loki laughed at the name, especially when Athena glared at him, "A hair better than him."

"Hey!" Thor shouted at that, he was an admirable fighter, but even he could admit Athena had bested him more than once with her skills in battle. It was to be expected though, he was the god of thunder while Athena was literally a goddess of battle, she had been born to fight, her domain was war where as his was the sky. He had had to learn and train to be what he was, it came naturally to her. He growled at Loki's smug look and turned to the Grandmaster, "You take these things out of our necks and we'll show you!"

The Grandmaster seemed amused by that, "Now listen to that. He's threatening me. Hey, Sparkles, here's the deal. If you wanna get back to Ass-place, Assberg..."

"Asgard," Athena corrected, it had become her home after a time and she would not have anyone, let alone this insane Grandmaster, insult it.

But the man ignored her, "Any contender who defeats my champion, their freedom they shall win."

"Fine," Thor huffed, "Then point us in the direction of whoever's ass we have to kick."

"Oh, no, no, no, my friend," the Grandmaster laughed, "One contender at a time."

"Then your champion must not be as skilled as you proclaim him to be," Athena remarked quickly, seeing Thor about to rage against the idea of them being separated or facing this champion alone. Not that she doubted either of them could handle it alone, but if this champion did prove to be some great beast, if it was a true danger, they would rather have each other's backs.

"My champion is undefeated."

"Then why not offer a spectacle," Athena suggested, "Prove his might, let him face two at once," the Grandmaster seemed to consider that, "I suppose you would rather his defeat be the result of just one person then, instead of being outnumbered…"

Thor began to grin at that, at how Athena was manipulating the Grandmaster himself by boxing him into a corner. If he refused, then it was an admission that his champion wasn't as powerful as he was claiming. But if he agreed, and the champion lost, he could still keep his Champion as the winner in the eyes of the people by claiming two against one was an odd no one could beat.

"Beautiful and bloodthirsty," the Grandmaster smiled at her, "Now that's what I call a contender!"

"Then we both shall duel?" Thor asked, just to be certain.

"Oh yes, my Champion could do with a little more challenge than the riffraff he's been facing lately," the Grandmaster agreed, "Direction would be this way, Lord."

The man made a mocking bow as guards arrived to haul Thor and Athena up, dragging them away.

~8~

Thor and Athena stumbled slightly as they were shoved into a cell of sorts, spacious though it was, where other alien prisoners were lurking nearer the back. The thick door to the cell slammed shut behind them and Thor immediately threw himself at it, trying to break through but it wouldn't budge.

"Thor," Athena stepped over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he nearly began to try and punch his way through it, "We will find a way out of this and back to Asgard," she promised, "We will defeat whatever champion the Grandmaster throws at us and be free to leave, but we cannot risk injuring ourselves before it."

Thor sighed and let Athena take his hand, guiding him away from the door, though they slowed in their steps when one of the aliens approached them. It appeared to be a tall creature, made entirely of rocks, looking much more like a true gladiator and warrior with its hulking frame and garb.

Though its voice was quite high pitched and gentle as it greeted them, "Hey! Hello!" they stared at him, more startled by the voice coming out of the looming rock-man than anything else, though the rock thing seemed to misinterpret their silence as it laughed, "Yeah I'm actually a thing, I'm a being. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Korg. I'm kind of like the leader in here. I'm made of rocks, as you can see, but don't let that intimidate you. You don't need to be afraid unless you're made of scissors," Korg then let out a few giggles, not hearty laughs, but genuine giggles, "Just a little rock-paper-scissor joke for you. This is my very good friend over here, Miek," he gestured to what appeared to be a slug-like alien squished inside a metallic exoskeleton, "He's an insect and has knives for hands."

Miek appeared to try and greet them by making an odd karate style move with his knife-hands.

"Hello?" Athena offered, not sure what else to say.

Thor observed Korg a moment longer, "You're a Kronan, aren't you?"

Korg seemed elated that Thor knew what he was, "That I am."

"How did you end up here?" Athena asked, not needing to know exactly what a Kronan was to know it wasn't native to this land.

"Well, I tried to start a revolution but didn't print enough pamphlets, so hardly anyone turned up," he sighed, "Except for my mom and her boyfriend, who I hate. As punishment, I was forced to be in here and become a gladiator. Bit of a promotional disaster," he leaned in to whisper, albeit loudly, to them, "But I'm actually organizing another revolution. I don't know if you'd be interested in something like that. Do you reckon you'd be interested?"

Athena gave him a soft smile, "Interested in taking down that megalomaniac? Very much so, and I'm sure Thor agrees…" she looked over at the man in question as he jogged along the wall of the room, likely scouting out where they were, "We might just have to settle a hostile takeover first before we can really help. Our home is in danger, you understand."

"Say no more," Korg held up his hands, nodding in understanding, "I'll put placeholders down for you."

Athena looked over as Thor ran up behind her, seeming completely confused to see them again, "Thor?"

"How did you..." Thor began, pointing at them and looking behind himself, he could have sworn that he'd run past them but, before he knew it, he was back behind them in almost an instant.

"Yeah," Korg sighed, "No. This whole thing is a circle. But not a real circle, more like a freaky circle."

"This doesn't make any sense."

"No, nothing makes sense here. The only thing that does make sense, is that nothing makes sense."

Athena eyed him, "I feel like my brother would love talking to you," she remarked, thinking of Apollo. He had a gift for visions and many of the people who used to follow him ended up speaking in riddles, much like Korg just had, as they were unable to interpret the visions they saw for their true meaning. And Korg seemed a gentle soul despite having to fight in the arena.

"Why, thank you."

Thor shook his head, "Has anyone here fought the Grandmaster's Champion?" he glanced over at the other aliens.

"Doug has," Korg said after a moment of thought, and turning to call out for the man in question, "Doug!" but then he stopped and nodded to himself as he turned back to them, "Oh, right, Doug's dead. That's right. Everyone who fights the Grandmaster's Champion perishes."

Athena didn't seem fazed by that or alarmed, she couldn't begin to count the number of times she'd heard that about some hero a member of her family vouched for, there was always someone out there who could best them. Usually it ended up being her or her brother, Ares, to do it.

"What about you?" Thor eyed Korg, "You're made of rocks!"

"Perishable rocks," Korg corrected just as a small pebble fell off his body, "There you go. Another one gone. Yeah, no, I just do the smaller fights, warm up the crowd and whatnot. Wait. You're not gonna face him, are you?"

"Yes, we are," Athena nodded.

"Fight him, win, and get the hell out of this place," Thor agreed.

Korg stared at them, "That's exactly what Doug used to say. See you later, new Dougs," he called, turning to walk over to Miek.

Thor and Athena looked at each other a moment, serious, before they began to smile, knowing there wasn't any challenge they couldn't face, they couldn't beat, together.

~8~

Thor and Athena sat against a wall in the cell late that night, the other aliens far in the back, all asleep. Athena was leaning against Thor, her arms wrapped around his one arm, her chin resting on his shoulder as he held one of her hands. His other hand was draped across his stomach, resting lightly on her arm, his thumb idly stroking a line on her skin, taking comfort in her nearness as he mourned for his father and mother.

"Odin," he spoke quietly under his breath, praying, Athena silent as she honored his customs, "Frigga," his voice cracked at the mention of his mother, "I bid you take your place in the halls of Valhalla..." he inhaled deeply, his voice breaking more, "Where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn but rejoice…"

"…for those that have died the glorious death," another voice spoke with him.

They looked up to see Loki standing before them, earning a glare from Thor.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Loki asked quietly, for once not sounding like he was trying to bait Thor but revealing a shared pain, a familiar pain, "Being lied to. Being told you're one thing and then learning it's all a fiction."

Loki looked down as Athena tossed a pebble through him, revealing him to be nothing but an illusion, not truly there. He nodded to himself and looked back up.

"You didn't think I'd really come here, did you?" he grimaced as he looked around, "This place is disgusting," he returned his glance to Thor, the man still silently glaring, "Does this mean you don't want my help?"

"I have Athena," Thor finally spoke, though the few words spoke volumes.

He had Athena, someone as wise and clever as Loki, if not more, someone strong, someone skilled in battle…and someone who had been there for him through many trials and tribulations. Someone loyal to him, who would never betray him, someone that had his back through it all. He had lost so much so quickly, his home, his parents, his hammer, he'd thought his brother lost to him, but never had he lost Athena. Once, he'd come near such a fate, but he'd gotten her back, never again. As long as he had her beside him, he knew he could do anything.

He didn't need Loki or his help.

Loki's lips pursed, seeming to understand all that Thor hadn't said, "Look, I couldn't jeopardize my position with Grandmaster, it took me time to win his trust. He's a lunatic, but he can be amenable," he sighed, "What I'm telling you is, you could join me at the Grandmaster's side. Perhaps, in time, an accident befalls the Grandmaster, and then..." he gestured to them and himself with a grin that clearly meant they would take over.

"Counteroffer," Athena called, "You stay here, you rule this wasteland, and Thor returns to Asgard and rules his kingdom."

Thor squeezed her hand, still holding it tightly, he didn't have to add out loud what they were all thinking. If he stepped up to rule Asgard, Athena would be at his side, as his queen, THEY would be ruling Asgard, not and never Loki.

Loki eyed them at that, hearing something else in her words, "You're not seriously thinking of going back, are you? Our sister destroyed your hammer like a piece of glass," he looked to Thor for that, "She's stronger than all of us. You don't stand a chance. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

"And this is why you would never make a good king," Athena stated, ignoring his questions, "You would rather turn and run than stand and fight for your people, regardless of the odds."

"You'll both die if you face her."

"So be it," Thor decreed.

Loki scoffed, seeing that they couldn't be reasoned with, they wouldn't give in to his plans, "Fine. I guess I'll just have to go it alone. Like I've always done…" he paused when Thor actually started to smirk, "Have something to say?"

"What would you like me to say?" Thor countered, "You faked your own death, you stole the throne, stripped Odin and Frigga of their power, stranded them on Earth...to _die_ , releasing the Goddess of Death. Have I said enough, or do you do you want me to go further back than _the past two days_?"

Athena looked at Loki with a hard expression, nowhere near as cold as Thor's, but she could see that Thor's words had affected him. Loki's eyes were shining and he truly looked like he was trying to keep himself composed. Had it just been Odin, she was sure Loki would have been able to hide his reaction better, but it was Frigga too. All that he'd done to set Odin on his path to his end had dragged Frigga along with it. Frigga had died too as the result of Loki's actions in sending Odin away. Of the two, Frigga would be the one to earn this reaction from him.

"You know, I haven't seen this Beloved Champion he talks of," Loki remarked, "But I've heard he's astonishingly _savage_. I've placed a large wager against you tomorrow," he looked between the two of them, an almost smirk on his face, "Don't let me down."

Thor rolled his eyes as Loki's presence shimmered away, vanishing…right as Korg launched himself at the area, trying to attack him with a fierce kick, but was too late, "Piss off, ghost!" Korg shouted, pausing when he noticed Loki wasn't there any longer, "He's freaking gone."

Thor let out a short laugh, "Thank you, my friend."

Athena shook her head and rested it back on Thor's shoulder, "Get some rest," she murmured to him, "We have a champion to defeat tomorrow."

~8~

Thor and Athena followed Korg and a small crowd of other prisoners as he lead them towards another cell, a sort of holding cell for the fighters just attached to the arena they'd be fighting in. There was a weapons rack Korg was showing them, allowing them to examine what they might want to take into the arena with them.

"Yuck!" Korg grimaced, looking at what appeared to be a condensed trident, "There's still someone's hair and blood all over this. Guys, can you clean up the weapons once you finish your fight?!" he called to the other fighters, muttering, "Disgusting slobs," after, before he eyed the weapon again and held it out to Thor, "Thor...wanna use a big wooden fork?"

"No," Thor answered simply, glancing at the weapons lined up, Athena moving up and down them herself.

Korg considered the weapon again, "Yeah, not really useful unless you're fighting off three vampires that were huddled together."

"Oh thank Zeus," Athena hurried over to something at the end of the rack, catching a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye. Thor followed and smiled, seeing that her sword and shield were there, apparently having been tossed into a pile of other weapons when it had been seized by the Grandmaster earlier. She hugged them to her chest before looking them over for damage.

Thor shook his head lightly as he saw her weapons returned, though a twinge of sorrow struck him at the sight of her sword, "I really wish I had my hammer," he murmured.

"Hammer?" Korg asked as he walked over to them, jerking back a bit as Athena swung her sword, testing it.

"Quite unique," Thor nodded, "It was made from this special metal from the heart of a dying star. And when I spun it really, really fast it gave me the ability to fly."

"You rode a hammer?"

"No, I didn't ride the hammer."

"The hammer rode you on your back?"

"No. I used to spin it really fast, and it would pull me off the..."

"Oh my God," Korg cut in, disgusted, "The hammer pulled you off?"

"The _ground_ ," Thor emphasized, "It would pull me off the ground, up into the air, and I would fly. Every time I threw it, it would always come back to me."

Korg looked at him a moment, "Sounds like you had a pretty special and intimate relationship with this hammer and that losing it was almost comparable to losing a loved one."

"That's a nice way of putting it," Thor remarked.

"Thor," Athena called a moment later, drawing his attention as she nodded to a series of shimmering lights at the end of the cell, like a netting, a barrier, to keep them in, but through which they could see Scrapper 142 sitting at a bar.

They slowly approached, able to hear the noise and chatter of the other patrons the nearer they got. Soon enough they could hear 142 arguing with someone, "I said they're _mine_."

"See her?" Thor asked Korg, the Kronan following, nodding towards 142, "The one that put us in here."

"Yeah, Scrapper 142. She's strong. And she drinks a lot," he sighed, "Gotta watch out for those Asgardians, man. They are hard to perish."

Athena and Thor both turned to him for that, "Asgardian?"

Korg shrugged and turned back, hearing a commotion and going to break up a small fight, leaving them to observe 142 as she began to leave.

"That explains how she knew you were a 'your majesty,'" Athena remarked. Whether or not the woman had ever met Thor, for he didn't seem to recognize her, he had repeatedly called himself Odinson, a clear indication of who his father was, the King. She should have guessed the woman was Asgardian from that. Not many in the other realms would instantly think to call Thor 'your majesty' just because Odin was a king unless said person WAS of Asgard and Odin was their king.

"Hey!" Thor called out, "Hey!" 142 rolled her eyes and turned to them, holding up the control device for the discs on their necks. He held up his hands quickly, "Do not zap us with that thing."

"We just need to talk to you," Athena added, "Asgard is in danger."

142 lowered her arm slowly, a flash of something drawing Thor's attention to a series of small scars, a brand, on her forearm, Asgardian in nature and familiar to him, "My God, you're a Valkyrie. I used to wanna be a Valkyrie when I was younger...until I found out that you were all women," he seemed to realize what he'd said and quickly looked between Athena and the Valkyrie for that remark, "There's nothing wrong with women, of course. I love women. Well, woman. One woman," he nodded at Athena, "This woman. Sometimes a little too much. Not in a creepy way," he added to Athena as she just looked at him, amused, "In a very meaningful way," he promised, "And with a respectful appreciation."

Athena took pity on him and reached out to pat his arm, "I love you, too."

"I think it's great that there is an elite force of women warriors," he added, "It's about time."

The Valkyrie, however, didn't look as amused as Athena, "Are you done?"

"Oi!" a voice called behind them, "Lord of Thunder, Tina, you're up."

Athena rolled her eyes at that, first Earth, now Sakaar, who would call her Tina next? And how many people would she need to take down with her sword before they stopped doing that?

Thor put a hand to the small of her back in support, noting her irritation, but looked back to the Valkyrie, "Please, help us. We need your help."

"Bye," was all the Valkyrie said before she turned to go.

"Fine, then you must be a traitor or a coward because the Valkyrie are sworn to protect the throne."

That seemed to do it as the woman spun on her heel to stride up to him, glaring, "Listen closely, your majesty. This is _Sakaar_ , not Asgard. And I'm a scrapper, not a Valkyrie," she watched, unmoved, as guards swarmed upon the two prisoners and dragged them back, "And no one escapes this place. So you're gonna die anyway."

Athena shook her head, hearing something more in her words, a sorrow and even a guilt if she had to guess. What Thor said had clearly struck a nerve to the woman, but they didn't have time to say anything else as they were pulled away.

"Take him in for processing," a guard, the warden, called.

Thor struggled more as he was hauled away from Athena, the woman shouting at the Warden, asking where he was being taken, what this processing was, but she was held back. He shook his head when he caught her eye, telling her not to do anything rash, like he would. Wherever he was going, whatever was about to happen, it wasn't the Champion, he was being pulled in the opposite direction of the arena. This was something else, and he was sure he could handle it. He didn't want her to be harmed, for that disc to be activated again, if he could help it.

He let himself be thrown down into a chair, straps coming around his arms and body.

"Now…" a voice said and he looked over to see an old man approaching with a pair of rusty shears in his hand, "Don't you move. My hands ain't as steady as they used to be."

Thor glared at him, seeing the way the man was eyeing his hair, "By Odin's beard, you shall not cut my hair...lest you feel the wrath of the mighty Thor!"

The man chuckled, the shears activating into a truly menacing fan of death.

Thor's entire countenance changed, shrinking back as the man got closer, knowing that one wrong move would mean that his head could be cut off instead of just his hair, "Please. Please, kind sir, do not cut my hair! No!"

~8~

Athena looked over from where she was standing by the gates that would let her into the arena, where she'd been ordered to go by the guards, when Thor stepped up to her. She'd been prepared for the battle, or they'd tried to, to arm her more, give her more armor, clearly thinking little of the meager sword and shield she held. When they saw the sword in her hand and the look in her eye, her willingness to use it on them, they kept back.

Thor, it appeared, had not been quite so lucky.

She burst into laughter at the sight of him.

He shot her a glare, highly displeased.

"Sorry," she offered, but wasn't able to stop laughing, "Sorry…um…nice haircut?"

Thor grunted at that. His hair had been shaved short, his beard trimmed, a few extra pieces of armor on, though mismatched, and covered in weapons. He had two swords on his back, a giant mace in one hand, a spiked shield in the other, with an odd helmet held along with the shield.

"At least now the Grandmaster can tell us apart," Athena joked.

And, speaking of the man, the Grandmaster's voice echoed above them, through the arena, "What a show, WHAT-A-NIGHT! Who's having fun? Please, I'm your host. Big round of applause for all of our undercard competitors...who died so gruesomely. Good sports. What a show! What a night! This is what you've come for and so have I!"

They looked at each other as a thunderous applause went up, gripping their weapons tighter as they readied themselves.

"And now, without further ado...it's main event time! Tonight we have a double feature! Yes, our Champion will be facing not one, but TWO challengers! Making their first appearance, though they look quite promising, got a couple of tricks up their sleeves. I'll say no more, see what you think. Ladies and gentlemen... I give to you...Lord of Thunder and Tina!"

This time it was Athena's turn to glare while Thor burst out laughing at the 'Tina' mistake again because now the entire planet would be calling her that.

They both, however, sobered quickly as the gates opened, glancing at each other as Thor put his helmet on. They banged their weapon on their shields and nodded, moving to stride into the arena.

"Watch out for his fingers," the Grandmaster continued to speak, "They make sparks. And her…I don't know what she can do but she's spunky!"

Athena gave Thor a look for that, mouthing 'spunky' to him with a frown. Thor could only shake his head and look around at the massive arena they were in, the crowds roaring and cheering.

"Ok, this is it. Let's get ready to welcome this guy. Here he comes. He is a creature. What can we say about him?"

Athena looked up at that, a deep frown of concentration growing on her face as she listened intently to what the Grandmaster was saying, hoping that he might reveal more about this champion they'd be facing. Every piece of information helped.

"Well, he's unique. There's none like him. I feel a special connection with him…"

Thor looked down as the floor beneath him and Athena began to lower, or the walls around the arena began to rise, he wasn't sure which. A door became visible within the wall, growing bigger and bigger the higher it got. Athena glanced at the audience, seeing they had all jumped to their feet in excitement, lights above them turning on with a blinding effect.

"He's undefeated. He's the reigning…he's the defending…ladies and gentlemen...I give you..."

The door before them suddenly shattered as the Grandmaster's champion burst through it, Athena and Thor nearly dropping their weapons at the sight of who it was.

"THE INCREDIBLE HULK!" the Grandmaster cheered.

And indeed it was, the big green brute, wearing armor reminiscent of a gladiator, with a helmet on his head, a Warhammer in one hand with a battle axe in the other. He beat his chest and let out a fearsome roar, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Athena let out a breath at the sight of the missing Avenger, her mind racing, trying to work out how he'd gotten there of all places and thinking of some sort of plan they could make to face down the Hulk without harming him, for he was still a dear friend.

She looked over a moment later when Thor himself let out the biggest whoop of joy, completely startling the crowd into silence with his cry of, "YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

A/N: I loved Thor's reaction to the Hulk, it made me laugh so hard :) And Korg, he's a sweetheart.

Some notes on reviews...

While I respect every religion and everyone's right to it, I'd like to ask that you please not spam a story with religious content. And I only say 'spam' in the sense that the content has nothing to do with the actual fanfiction itself. If you would like to PM me with your message, that's completely fine, but the reviews are very public and not everyone is comfortable seeing religion being pushed or advertised in such a way. Again, absolutely no disrespect intended and I hope I haven't offended you :)

I actually mention on my profile that, at the moment, I have no plans to do stories for Teen Wolf or Game of Thrones :( Nor the Originals, mostly because Twilight sort of killed any werewolf or vampire shows for me so I just haven't been able to get into them :( There's always a chance I'll try and give it another shot later and get hit with an OC, but for the moment not for them :( Game of Thrones, I get really uncomfortable with nudity/sex scenes so I haven't seen much of GOT, I only really watch it for the 'safe' Dany and Dragons scenes, and some Jon Snow, so I can't say I've seen enough to have an OC come up for that show either :/ But, again, always a chance I'll give it another go later and come up with a story ;)

Oh 142 and Athena...she hasn't really introduced herself as Athena to her yet, has she? }:) We'll have to wait and see if there's a reaction from 142 about it ;)

When I wrote the Anakin/Amira story I never really planned for it to go past the prequel trilogy, mostly because it changes so much it's a little hard for me to work out how some of the original trilogy would work with Anakin not being Darth Vader :/ I have considered doing a spinoff of the Clone Wars animated series to help bridge the gap between the stories, but I'm focusing a little more on catching up my main stories at the moment so most spinoffs are on hold :( I would like to find a way to rework the original trilogy for Amira's story, but it may take some time to get the kinks worked out ;) I can't promise it'll be picked up any time soon, but I do fully plan to at least do the spin off one day ;)


	5. A Battle of Champions

A Battle of Champions

Athena let out a joyful laugh not only at Thor's excitement, but at seeing the Hulk alive. As far as she knew, he'd disappeared shortly after they'd dealt with Ultron, they'd all feared he had died or that Banner was in hiding again. She had no idea how he'd ended up there.

"Hey!" Thor cheered with a bright laugh of his own, before looking up at the crowd, up to where the Grandmaster was watching, "We know each other. He's a friend from work!"

"Where have you been?" Athena asked the green machine, "Everybody thought you were dead."

"Oh, so much has happened since we last saw you," Thor began to speak, "I lost my hammer. Like, yesterday, so that's still pretty fresh. Loki! Loki's alive. Can you believe it?"

"Yes, he's up there," Athena pointed her sword up to the higher box seats, before moving her sword into a sheath on her waist, not about to bring a weapon against a friend, "Oh Loki, look who it is!" she could just imagine the look of abject horror on Loki's face right at that moment.

"Banner, I never thought I would say this," Thor continued, "But I'm happy to see you."

Athena's smile began to fall as she observed the Hulk, who was just standing there, watching them. The way he was looking at them…it was like he was struggling to work out who they were. It had been a while, she knew, by human standards, it had been years since they had encountered the others, but it couldn't have been so long that Banner forgot who they were. Even with time working oddly here...it hadn't been THAT long had it? How long had he been there for?

Thor glanced at her, and then Hulk, seeming to be coming to the same conclusion as she was, that something was very much not right about this, "Banner?" Thor called, ignoring the crowd as they cheered 'Hulk!' over and over, "Hey, Banner!"

The Hulk grimaced at them, looking almost, for a moment, as though Banner was about to take over once more…only for Hulk to let out a roar and resume control, "HULK NO BANNER!" he cried, "ONLY HULK!"

"He can talk?!" Athena nearly gaped at him, not recalling Hulk actually speaking in such a way before.

Hulk let out another roar at that and charged for them, far faster than they'd ever seen him run.

"What are you doing?" Thor demanded, "It's us!" he dove out of the way as Hulk launched an attack, swinging at him with his weapons before landing a blow that shattered Thor's shield and sent him flying across the arena.

"Hulk!" Athena quickly got in his path to keep him from going after Thor even more while the god got his footing again, having drawn a sword and stabbed the ground to slow himself down. Hulk glared at her and pulled back a fist, moving to punch right at her. She quickly lifted her shield and braced herself, her shield holding up against the attack, having been made by the gods unlike the other weapons in the armory, though she slid back a few feet on the sand of the arena.

Thor drew his second sword and rushed back to Athena, calling out, "Banner, we're friends. This is crazy."

Athena pulled her shield back and swung, batting Hulk's fist away from her, "We don't want to hurt you!"

Hulk didn't seem to care, kicking at Athena, who blocked with her shield but went flying across the arena and nearly into a wall. Thor followed her reaction from earlier and jumped in the way, blocking Hulk's next attack, a swing of his Warhammer, with his two swords. He turned, using the momentum to thrust Hulk away, sending him stumbling. He held out a hand and yanked Athena up, the two of them ducking as Hulk ran back at them and swung the Warhammer so hard it got lodged in the wall. Thor tossed Athena his swords, reaching out to grab the handle of the Warhammer himself and pry it out, spinning it to smack into Hulk and send _him_ flying this time.

"Go!" Thor urged Athena, "Go! We need a lullaby!"

Athena nodded, recalling the trick that the Black Widow used to use to turn Hulk back into Banner, and dashed off to the Hulk, slowing as the green man sat up from a pile of debris, seeming a little dazed. She held up her hands, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible, moving her shield behind her back once more and laying Thor's swords on the ground.

"Hey, big guy," she began, hoping she was using the right phrasing, "The sun's getting real low…" she watched, cautious, as Hulk pulled his helmet off, "That's it. The sun's going down. We're not going to hurt you anymore. No one will…"

A moment later she was shoved out of the way by Thor, who had been guarding her back, as Hulk made a grab for her, catching Thor by the leg and beating him into the ground of the arena by flinging him around like a whip, smashing him into the floor.

"Thor!" Athena shouted as he was thrown to the side, Hulk letting out a roar and charging at the god with his axe. She pushed herself up and ran over, blocking the next blow with her shield once more, giving Thor time to get up.

"Alright," Thor nearly growled, coming up behind her, "Screw it!" he grabbed the fallen Warhammer and swung Hulk's battleaxe up and away from Athena, using his brute strength to push Hulk back with every blow.

Athena quickly joined in, moving in between Hulk's feet and tripping him as he fought, making him even more angry, giving Thor more of a chance to land better blows as his attention was divided between her and Thor.

"I know you're in there, Banner!" Thor shouted, "We'll get you out!" he swung hard, disarming the Hulk and breaking the battleaxe with the Warhammer. He looked up as Athena leapt behind Hulk, landing a heavy punch to the center of his back, driving him to his knees. Thor used that to his advantage, and dealt his own blow to the chest, sending Hulk onto his back, Athena diving out of the way.

"What's happened to you?" Athena asked Hulk, panting just a little.

"You're embarrassing us," Thor added in a hiss, "I told them we were friends!"

Hulk let out a growl and sprang up, punching Thor so hard he went tumbling across the arena, following close behind with a jump that landed him right on top of the god, punching him over and over.

"Thor!" Athena cried, racing after them…

Thor gasped in pain as he felt each blow, getting more powerful with each strike. He could almost feel his world going black…but then…he saw something. It was as though a vision was seizing him in flashes with each punch, Odin, Frigga, standing there on that cliff, the background dark with storm and lightning…

Thor's eyes shot open, glowing almost white with electricity, before he gave a firm punch himself, sending Hulk flying back with a burst of lightning.

Athena skid onto her knees, leaning back slightly as the Hulk flew over her. She looked to the side, seeing Thor on his feet, lightning surrounding him as he blasted a lightning fueled punch at the Hulk once more, launching him backwards. She moved quickly to Thor's side as he landed on the ground hard enough to make a small crater, "Thor!" she reached out and caught him as he stumbled, almost sagging as he snapped out of the power that had held him.

She looked up, hearing the crowd, which had started to chant 'Thunder!' over and over begin to fall silent when they saw the Hulk actually seemed to be weakening and staggering about.

She turned her attention back to Thor, "Are you alright?" she asked him quickly and quietly, looking at the hand she'd grabbed to catch him, it was still crackling with the remnants of electricity, though it was fizzling quickly.

"I don't know," he admitted, sounding unsure as to what had just happened.

Athena looked over, seeing the Hulk gain his bearings, "We'll figure that out later," she warned.

Thor nodded, Hulk now lumbering towards them, "I'll take left?"

Athena gave him a firm nod at that, the two of them turning to face down the green man as he pulled back to punch at them. They separated, both attacking at the same time, landing blow after blow, Hulk struggling to keep up from the onslaught. Thor made to land one final blow that would have Hulk down for the count when a pain suddenly shot through his body from the disc on his neck. He fell to the ground, startled, and quickly looked over to see Athena's had triggered as well.

It was just enough to give the Hulk a chance as the man leapt into the air, almost rocketing out of the arena.

"This is going to hurt," Thor muttered as he and Athena panted, the disc not letting up on the pain, keeping them crippled, almost seeming to increase in voltage, as they watched, helpless, as the Hulk plummeted back down towards them, his fists out.

That was the last thing they saw as the Hulk's two fists came right down at them, landing a blow that made their world go black.

~8~

Thor woke with a gasp, sitting up quickly, wincing as he felt his ribs twinge to see he had been lying in a heap on the ground, with two odd women hovering over him and dabbing at his chest. He scrambled away from them, startling them to the point they ran away. He looked down, seeing his chest riddled with bruises from the battle. He shook his head and looked over, searching for Athena and let out a relieved breath when he saw her only a few feet away, lying on the ground as well.

He tried to make his way over to her, wincing as he moved, slow goings, but he eventually made it, "Athena…" he murmured, reaching own to take her hand, his eyes roving over her quickly, taking stock of her injuries. She looked about as bad as he did, with bruises on her arms and legs and one on her cheek. Her weapons were gone, yet again, but her armor and clothing was still on. Clearly the two women had been tending to him first and hadn't gotten to Athena yet.

He was grateful for it, they might be women, but he did not want anyone to see her so undressed.

"Athena."

Athena's eyes fluttered a moment before they opened, looking up at him with her own grimace of pain. He squeezed her hand, helping he sit up, her other hand coming to her forehead before dropping to her middle, "Did you get the name of the chariot that ran us over?" she murmured, her voice a bit hoarse.

He chuckled lightly, "I believe it was Hulk."

Athena nodded slowly at that, the battle coming back to her as she looked around at where they were. It wasn't the cells again, but a room. It was a very large room, spacious, with a graphic pattern on the wall, high ceilings, an open archway at the end of it where two guards were standing within a large hall. There was an enormous bed in the center of the room, seeming like it was enclosed by the skull of a large beast of some sort. There was other furniture around, all with large cushions, and shelves with odds and ends on them. The side of the room was made up of a wall of glass, giving a view to the planet outside.

She stilled, hearing a noise that sounded water moving, and looked over with Thor in that direction.

And there, in the corner of the room, was the Hulk, sitting in a large steaming pool of water. They exchanged odd looks at that and turned back to the green man. He looked…relaxed, not at all angry and yet he hadn't transformed back into Banner.

"…um," Thor began, earning Hulk's glance, "Are we cool?"

Hulk just grunted.

Athena shrugged at that when Thor looked at her for help translating, "I suppose?"

Thor grimaced a bit, "It's Hulk…in a hot tub."

"I know, I see," Athena remarked, frowning over at the Hulk, "How long have you been like that?" It had to have been a while, he seemed comfortable, he was clearly well known and had built up a reputation on the planet for longer than Loki had been there, and…he could talk now.

"Like what?" Hulk grunted.

Thor gestured at the green man, "Like this. Big, green...stupid."

"Hulk always Hulk."

"Except when Hulk is Dr. Banner," Athena reminded the man.

Thor pushed himself to his feet, squeezing Athena's hand to help her up after him as he made his way over to the window with her, looking out at the planet. Only a moment later there was a speck in the sky, a spaceship of some sort rising higher, heading for a wormhole in the sky…when a blast came out of nowhere and shot it down before it could even get close enough.

"That explains why he didn't leave," Athena mumbled under her breath so only Thor could hear her.

Thor turned to Hulk, it did answer why he hadn't left, but not quite how he ended up on the planet in the first place, "How'd you get here?"

"Winning," Hulk answered.

"You mean cheating," Thor shot back, absently touching the disc on his neck. It didn't take much to work out what had happened. The Grandmaster had activated their discs, crippling them in the middle of the fight so that his champion would remain undefeated. He supposed it was something though that they were both still alive and not another Doug.

"Were all your competitors wearing these?" Athena had to ask, tapping the disc on her neck as well, a bitter note in her voice. Yes, a time or two she would implement underhanded tricks to win a fight, but not something like this that made it impossible for the opponent to do any fighting.

Hulk snorted, "Sore losers."

Thor shook his head, getting back on topic, "How'd you arrive here?" he gestured out of the window so it would be clear he wasn't talking about this room but the planet itself.

"Quinjet," Hulk stated, and began to mime landing a plane on the water he was sitting in.

"Where IS the Quinjet?" Athena asked, turning from the window to look at Hulk.

Hulk sighed and got up from the hot tub…making Athena spin back around, her hands over her eyes as Thor turned a bit green himself, the Hulk was completely naked.

"That's…naked," Thor averted his eyes but not fast enough, "He's very naked…" he whispered to Athena.

"I really don't want to hear anything until he's put something on," she told him.

"It's in my brain now," Thor shook his head as though he could erase the image with just the motion.

Hulk walked over to the window and pointed out, "Quinjet."

Thor leaned forward to see that the Quinjet truly was right there, just in the middle of a massive junkyard, much like the one they'd fallen into, "Yes!" he cheered, "I'm getting us out of here," he promised Athena, glancing back at the Hulk, thankful he was now wearing a towel around his waist, "This is a terrible, awful place. You're gonna love Asgard. It's big. It's golden. Shiny."

Hulk scoffed, sitting on his bed and eating a pumpkin, "Hulk stay."

"No, no, no. My people need us to get back to Asgard. We must prevent Ragnarok."

"Rag-na-ruh?"

"Is he decent?" Athena asked from beside Thor.

"He's clothed," was all Thor could offer.

Athena nodded and turned, peeking from behind her fingers to make sure before she lowered her hands, "Hulk, Ragnarok is a prophecy in Thor's home, it talks of its destruction. We need to get back to protect it."

"If you help us get back to Asgard, we can help you get back to Earth," Thor promised.

"Earth hate Hulk," Hulk shook his head.

"Earth loves Hulk! They love you!"

"You're an Avenger," Athena agreed.

"One of the team, one of our friends. This is what friends do. They support each other."

"You're Banner's friends," Hulk argued.

"I'm not Banner's friend," Thor insisted, "I prefer you."

" _Banner's_ friend."

"I don't even like Banner!" Thor promised, before launching into a rather poor impersonation of the man, "'I'm into numbers and science and stuff.'"

"Thor and Tina go…"

"ATHENA!" she huffed, "You KNOW my name!"

But Hulk ignored her, "Hulk Stay."

"Fine," Thor huffed, "Stay here. Stupid place. It's hideous, by the way. The red, the white. Just pick a color," he took Athena's hand, leading her towards the large, wide door to the hall.

Hulk didn't even try to stop them, just called, "Smash you."

"You didn't smash anything," Thor disagreed, "WE won that fight…"

"I smashed you."

"Yeah, sure, sure."

"Baby Arms."

Thor let go of Athena's hand to round on the Hulk, insulted now, not seeming to notice as she frowned at the archway, looking for something, "What?!"

"Baby," Hulk repeated.

"Moron! You big child!"

"Thor don't insult him," Athena chastised, though she sounded distracted.

Thor looked back at her and moved to join her at the door once more, having stepped away to confront the Hulk.

"Then go!" Hulk taunted.

"We _are_ going!" Thor insisted.

Athena didn't follow, but watched intently as Thor stepped to the door, taking a single step onto the threshold before he was thrown back by the disc in his neck, sending a jolt of pain into her disc as well, "I thought as much," she muttered with a grimace, her hand flying to her neck, "See there," she gestured to two key points on the archway, "Perimeter sensors. We're trapped here."

Hulk laughed at Thor as the man laid on the ground from where he'd been thrown, "Thor go again!" he cheered, "Puny gods home now."

~8~

Thor and Athena were sitting against the wall of Hulk's room, in much the same position they'd been in down in the cells, holding hands, Athena's other arm wrapped around his, his other hand resting on her arm, their heads resting on each other's. She had searched the room top to bottom, looking for more of the sensors to give an idea of where they could or couldn't go. Thor had taken to trying to use different items to destroy them. A close examination revealed that they could break through the window if they wanted to, but they needed more of a plan.

If they escaped now, Hulk would notice and alert others, they needed to get Hulk on their side. They needed more resources, more help, but, more than that, they had people there they would feel awful to leave the planet without. Hulk was the first, whether he liked being on this planet or not, he belonged on Earth, Earth was his home. He had people there that were friends, perhaps even something more if the connection between Natasha and Banner was still there. He had a life, research, resources, and people depending on him, worried for him.

Then there was Loki. Not only would they need to get him off planet and back to Asgard, but it was for many more reasons. He was Thor's brother, even by adoption, and he would no more want to leave the man behind than he would Athena. He had lost his brother once before, thought him dead, mourned, and then gotten him back. It was not something to take for granted. Beyond that, he still had to answer for certain crimes with their people, he had to be brought to justice for the things he had done. He would either come in shackles or willingly but he would be leaving the planet with them if Athena had anything to say about it.

And…the Valkyrie. Athena wasn't sure if she was on their list of people to recruit or whisk away but she could tell from the way that Thor reacted that she was something of a legend. She had done her research of Asgardian lore when she'd arrived in the realm, she had read about the elite women warriors, much like the Amazons. The legends of them had ended abruptly. A telling of a battle, an enemy that was more powerful than any they'd encountered before, one that had managed to destroy them before Odin was able to destroy it. Looking back now she was sure there were things she should have noticed, picked up upon, questioned, but she had been so new to the culture, more interested in just absorbing as much as possible than to really question the things she'd read.

The Valkyrie warriors were long gone, a remnant of the past, which meant the one on this planet could have been there since their downfall…far too long to be alone. And it appeared she truly was alone. She had seen Dionysus drown himself in his sorrows after the Dark Days. He drank to forget, he drank to try and convince himself that what had happened, what he'd done, was nothing more than a nightmare, a drunken haze and not reality. She saw the same look on the wayward Valkyrie's face that she had on her brother's. She truly thought the Valkyrie was the last of the warriors, how she survived was a mystery to her, but the woman had. And she did not deserve to waste away on this planet instead of being around her people, a people she had fought so hard to protect.

She just…wasn't fully sure just how Thor felt about that though. He knew more of the Valkyrie than she did and his remark about how the woman was committing treason by refusing to help…it would be up to Thor if she was to come with them, but she was certain she would argue in the woman's favor. To drink like that was done out of shame, the woman was hurting and guilt-ridden about something, no one deserved that suffering.

Hulk lumbered in front of them, grabbing his giant battleaxe from where it was resting on a wall, already armored up heavily. He didn't bother to stop as he called out, "Hulk trains!" to them, heading for the open doorway.

"That's great," was Thor's sarcastic response, "Have fun."

Hulk didn't respond as he stepped past the sensors, free to come and go as he pleased. Though the two warriors watched as the Valkyrie met up with Hulk at the end of the hall. The woman beamed to see the gladiator, the two engaging in a bit of play fighting, both very friendly with each other and very familiar.

"She found him," Athena recalled what the Grandmaster had stated when he was complimenting Scrapper 142, how she had brought him his beloved champion.

Thor let out a sigh, tempted to try and rush after them, to call out to the Valkyrie again, reason with her, but he was still sore from the fight with Hulk and he was too comfortable resting there with Athena to be bothered. He shifted slightly, resting his head more onto Athena's and letting out another breath.

"We will get out of here," Athena promised him quietly.

"But will we be in time?" Thor had to ask.

Athena was quiet a moment, "Asgard is strong, her people even more so. They will resist."

"And what will be the punishment for it?"

"What would it say of your people if they give in so easily?" Athena countered, "They are true of heart, and they are wise. They will not bow down easily, they will oppose her at every turn, for they know their true king will return to save them."

"I do not feel like much a king," he admitted.

"I don't suppose any king ever feels that way," she remarked, "Even after he's been one for many years, none ever feels they are good enough for their people. And that is good, it keeps them constantly trying to be better, to do right by the people. And you will, Thor, I have no doubt about it."

He turned his head, pressing a kiss to her hair, "We will escape this prison," he agreed, "The wormholes, they will be our only hope to get off-world. If they brought us here, they can bring us to Asgard."

Athena nodded, "It does seem our best bet."

Thor took a deep breath, "I need to know," he murmured, "I need to know what she has done to Asgard, what has befallen my people. If I could just KNOW, then surely it would be easier to convince Hulk to come with us, and the Valkyrie…"

Athena's lip quirked up at the mention of the woman, to know Thor too wished for her to return to her home. She squeezed his arm, "I am right here with you, Thor. You will not have to face it alone."

He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, feeling the connection to his home, to his people deep inside him and sending out a prayer to the cosmos, "Heimdall, I know you can see me. I need you to help me. Help US. Help us see…"

A moment later he could feel Heimdall respond to his plea, sharing his ever-seeing sight with the rightful king and his chosen queen. His eyes snapped open, Athena gasping beside him as she too was given the privilege to see what he was seeing through Heimdall.

They could see stars flair to life through the wormholes, it was as though they were flying through it and into space, zooming quickly through it till they reached the streets of Asgard.

Thor turned, feeling as though he was standing right there in the middle of his home, to see Athena beside him, still gripping his hand, and Heimdall on his other side. The guardian of Asgard quickly held a finger to his lips to still any word Thor might say, half hidden in the shadows as he was. He gestured for the two to follow, to press themselves against the wall and they did so quickly.

They could see now, refugees, hiding, waiting behind Heimdall as he watched for a patrol of guards to creep down the streets, not seeing them. Athena frowned deeply as she caught sight of the guards, for they were not Asgardian, not in the typical garb at least, they did not even look human any longer.

"I see you," Heimdall whispered to the two of them, "But you are far away."

"What's going on here?" Thor asked, just as quietly.

"What are those things?" Athena added.

Heimdall turned grim, "Come see for yourself."

Heimdall quickly turned and led the small family of refugees away, rushing down the street with the two warriors following. But Thor stopped short as he caught full sight of the city, it looked as though it were burning, full of smoke and fear, the streets occupied with the same mutated guards. It was absolutely heartbreaking a sight to see.

"Thor," Athena whispered beside him, squeezing his hand and shaking her head in a silent plea to keep moving, to not be halted by the sight. Heimdall had something they needed to see. He swallowed but nodded, rushing off after the family as Heimdall stopped them, ushering them into an alcove just as another guard passed.

"I'm providing refuge in a stronghold built by our ancestors," Heimdall told them, "But if the garrison falls our only escape will be the Bifrost."

Thor tensed at that, alarmed, "You're talking about evacuating Asgard?"

"We won't last long if we stay."

"What ARE those creatures?" Athena asked, something in her telling her not to disregard the guards.

"Soldiers. Those long since passed and resurrected to do Hela's will. She draws her power from Asgard and grows stronger every day. Come on," Heimdall led the way again, guiding the family down a safe pathway, "Hela is ravenous. If I let her leave, she'll consume the Nine Realms and all the cosmos," he looked back to Thor and Athena, "We need you."

"We're both working on it," Thor promised, "But we don't even really know where the hell we are."

"You're on a planet surrounded by doorways. Go through one."

"Which one?" Athena shook her head, there were probably thousands of wormholes around the planet, the wrong one would only drive them farther away from their goal.

Heimdall jolted forward, causing Thor to quickly stumble back, and hacked into one of the dead soldiers, two of which had spotted them. Athena watched in mounting dread as the soldier did not stop in trying to attack Heimdall but continued to fight despite its clear injuries, ones that would have stopped any other living being.

"The big one!" Heimdall managed to call out, turning to throw a hand at the two of them, casting them out of the vision.

Thor and Athena gasped as they found themselves back in the Hulk's rooms, before their expressions settled into a serious line, they were going to get back to Asgard, and they were going to do it NOW.

A/N: I felt so bad for Banner in this movie, being trapped with Hulk running the show :( I wasn't sure how he'd react to Athena, but I feel like it would be similar to Thor since he fought against her in the arena too and she was on Thor's side, she is also as eager as Thor to get off the planet and back to Asgard, and also wants to take Hulk back to Earth so I couldn't see him being thrilled with her either :/

But can you believe it! We're halfway through the story already! O.O It's definitely going to be picking up from here ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I was so sad Korg wasn't in Infinity War :( But we'll get a small cameo of him in Athena's Infinity War ;) I'm still not sure if I'll do The First Avenger after this story and then follow up with Athena's Infinity War or go right to her IW story, but either way we'll definitely be getting it before Avenger's 4 comes out, probably either within this month or the beginning of July ;) So far I haven't changed my mind about doing a Harry Potter stories, still haven't gotten hit with an OC and I've become a fan of Harry/Luna, and I really don't think I could do her justice, but there's always hope for the future ;) And no worries, it is no trouble at all ;)


	6. To Lose One, To Gain Another

To Lose One, To Gain Another

Athena looked up from where she and Thor were quietly speaking, trying to work out the best plan for escape, when Hulk stepped over to them, looking down at them with a curious expression on his face.

"Puny gods sad," Hulk stated.

"Shut up," Thor muttered, pulling himself up and reaching out a hand to help Athena to her feet as well. He stumbled suddenly when Hulk punched his shoulder, though the green man didn't appear to have done it to actually hurt him, but more like a very powerful nudge.

" _Puny gods sad_!" Hulk repeated, as though increasing the volume would get them to explain why they were sad.

"We're not sad," Athena told him, even as Thor stomped away, rubbing his arm. She was sure Thor still harbored a deep mourning for his parents, he was greatly concerned for his people, but right now, the longer they were on this planet, the emotion they were both feeling was something far from sadness.

"We're pissed off, you idiot!" Thor grouched as he turned to face them, Athena gesturing at him for the summary of what they felt like to be kept there while Asgard suffered and having two (maybe three, if they included Loki) people who should have been helping them refusing to do so, "Angry. I lost my father and my mother. I lost my hammer. My people are…"

Thor trailed off, hearing a thudding noise, to look over and see Hulk on his bed, punching a pillow and not listening anymore to what the Asgardian was saying.

"Hulk!" Athena huffed, moving to stand at Thor's side to glare at the green man, her arms crossed.

Hulk rolled his eyes, "Whining and crying. Cry like baby."

"You're not even listening!" Thor yelled, kicking the closest thing to him, a helmet of some kind.

"Don't kick stuff."

Thor ignored the green giant to point an accusing finger at him, "You're being a really bad friend."

Hulk glared back, "You bad friend!"

"You know what we call you?"

"No."

"We call you the stupid Avenger."

"No, WE don't," Athena elbowed Thor in the side for that remark, shooting him a less than pleased look. That was _not_ the way to get anyone to aid them, by insulting them. And, knowing how temperamental Hulk could be, this wouldn't help them get Banner back either. Banner at least would want to get off the planet where Hulk kept resisting.

Hulk didn't seem to hear her as he jumped to his feet, shouting, "You're tiny Avenger!" at Thor before he threw a shield at him, nearly decapitating him had Athena not pulled him down to avoid it.

"That was rude," Athena muttered.

"Are you crazy!?" Thor demanded of Hulk.

"Yes," was the simple, shrugged reply.

"Alright, this is getting out of hand," Athena tried to calm the two men down, "Why don't we just…" she ducked when a mace went flying at her, causing her to duck as well, "Hulk!"

"You know what?" Thor stormed over at the green man, glaring at him, more angry that the giant had thrown a weapon at Athena's head than when he'd had things thrown at himself. Athena was trying to calm them down, HE had been the one insulting Hulk and yet he'd thrown a mace at her! He was not going to let that slide, "Earth _does_ hate you. And…ow!"

Thor flinched forward as Athena hit him on the back of the head with her hand.

"What was that for?" he rubbed his head, looking at Athena with a pout.

She sighed and gestured to Hulk, who now appeared very sad, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head bowed, clearly moping and hurt by what Thor had said. He sighed, understanding he'd gone too far with his last remark. Athena gave him a warning look, pointing an accusing finger at him, before she made her way over to Hulk, sitting down on the bed beside him.

"Hulk, ignore him," Athena tried to reassure the green man, "Thor is upset and very worried for his people right now. He didn't mean it and he's very sorry he said what he did, aren't you Thor?"

He nodded at her very pointed look, "Very," he stepped over too, "You're not the stupid Avenger. Nobody calls you the stupid Avenger."

"It's ok," Hulk sighed.

"But you just can't go around throwing shields at people," Thor continued, "Or maces. You could have killed us."

"I know," Hulk nodded, sounding regretful now, "I'm sorry."

"We forgive you," Athena patted him on the arm.

"I just get so angry all the time. Hulk always, always angry."

"We know," Thor agreed, "We're all the same here…"

"Excuse me?" Athena gave him another look.

"WE're the same, you and I," Thor amended, gesturing between himself and Hulk, "We're just a couple of hot-headed fools."

"That's for damned sure," Athena muttered, making Thor crack a smile. He may be a hot-headed fool, but he was HER hot-headed fool.

"Yeah, same," Hulk agreed, "Hulk like fire, Thor like water."

Thor gave him a look for that, "We're kind of both like fire."

"But Hulk like _real_ fire. Hulk like raging fire. Thor like smoldering fire."

Athena shook her head at Thor as he opened his mouth to argue over which sort of fire he was, resting a hand on Hulk's arm, "Hulk…we need you to do something for us."

"Hulk stay here."

"We won't make you leave if you don't want to," Athena promised him, ignoring Thor rolling his eyes behind Hulk's back, they both very much WERE going to take Hulk with them, but he didn't need to know that, "We just need to talk to someone, and we need your help to get her to listen."

~8~

"I really hope this works," Athena murmured from beside Thor as they stood in the Hulk's chamber, off to the side, waiting for the Valkyrie to arrive. Hulk was amusing himself by bouncing a very large ball against the wall, denting it with each bounce.

Thor gave her a small smile, "Doubting your skills?"

"Hardly," she countered, nudging him a little, "I learned from the fastest hands," she remarked, thinking of another brother of hers, "I merely fear we will not be able to convince her to return with us."

"Asgard is her home," Thor murmured, "And it is in danger, if she holds any value in the oaths she made, she should return."

"I just…" she sighed, "I can understand running from something you aren't proud of. Whatever lingers in her past, it has driven her to drink, to stay here, it may not be something she is willing to face."

Thor could only nod at that, understanding. He had done a few things in his past that he was not proud of, had felt that familiar desire to runaway where no one could know of his shame. He had been lucky though, he'd had Athena beside him, willing to talk to him, forgive him, and hunt him down to spar some sense into him when he was being foolish. It did not look like the Valkyrie had anyone with her.

They looked over when Hulk suddenly stopped, seeing that he'd noticed something from the front of the room. They leaned around one of the pieces of furniture to see the Valkyrie approaching, escorted by two guards. As soon as she was in the room, the guards left and she smiled, rushing up to Hulk at the foot of his bed, giving him a hug as he laughed, playfully roughhousing with her.

"What's going on?" she asked the big, green man, "What do you…"

Athena cleared her throat, she and Thor stepping out where she could see them as she turned. They hadn't thought she would enter the room if she had seen them first.

The look on her face told them they were completely right. She looked quite displeased to see them, even shooting an annoyed look at Hulk for his clear involvement. Hulk, to his credit, looked down, a little chastised, and stepped back.

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes as she faced them, "You're so thick-headed that you can't tell when someone's hiding all the way across the universe and wants to be left alone?" she demanded, looking more at Thor than Athena.

"No," Athena answered, "We're well aware of that. But this is serious."

"We need to talk," Thor insisted.

"No," the Valkyrie shook her head, already heading for the door, " _You_ want to talk to me."

Thor looked over at Hulk, "We need her to stay."

Hulk nodded and turned to his bed, grabbing the jaw of the skull off of it and throwing it across the room to block her path to the door. The Valkyrie shot him another annoyed glare but this time Hulk just snorted, "Stay!" he ordered, before adding a, "Please?" when she lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Fine," the Valkyrie huffed, heading straight for Hulk's collection of alcohol on a bar, as the green man went back to bouncing his ball. She grabbed an unopened bottle, rolling her eyes again when Hulk snorted in a disapproving manner. She put it down and grabbed something in a cheaper jug, but much larger. She grabbed the cork out of it and turned to the two warriors before her, "Alright. Here's the deal. I'll listen to you till this is empty."

Thor was almost startled into silence when she began to chug the contents down at a rapid race. But Athena quickly started to speak, "Asgard is in danger…"

He nodded, adding in, "And people are dying. We need to get back there. We need your help to...wow…" he gaped at her as she set down the now empty bottle.

"Finished," the Valkyrie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Bye."

Thor shook her head as the woman merely turned to go, calling out the last chance at getting her help, "Odin is dead."

If it wasn't a testament to how dire the situation was that Asgard's current king was gone, it was a warning. The woman was not just refusing the son of Odin, but the KING of Asgard. If she continued on her path, then she was truly on her way to committing treason.

The Valkyrie stopped dead.

Athena frowned, noting her tense stance, the softest inhale of breath that she'd heard, how the knowledge was inspiring dread and fear in her, and she realized, "You know what that means, don't you?" she asked.

Thor straightened, understanding what Athena meant, the Valkyrie clearly knew what Odin's death would mean for her home, and now he had to confirm her worst fears, "Hela, the Goddess of Death, has invaded Asgard."

The Valkrie turned to face them, more serious than they could recall seeing her, actual emotion that wasn't anger, annoyance, or disinterest on her face, "If Hela's back then Asgard is already lost."

"Asgard is not lost as long as we draw breath," Athena swore, though the Valkyrie scoffed at that, looking up and shaking her head, almost as though she'd heard those words before and bore witness to the outcome of them.

"We're going to stop her," Thor swore.

"Just the two of you?" the Valkyrie looked between them.

"While I have no doubt we could," Thor began, "We have also learned there is a better chance with greater numbers. We're putting together a team. It's us, you, and the big guy…"

"No team," Hulk called, "Only Hulk."

"It's us and you," Thor amended.

The Valkyrie shook her head, "I think it's only you."

"Wait," Thor pleaded, "Just listen. The Valkyrie are legend, elite warriors of Asgard. You are sworn to defend the throne…"

"I'm _not_ getting dragged into another one of Odin's family squabbles."

"What do you mean by that?" Athena asked, before Thor could speak, seeing he had taken offense to the last remark.

"Hela," the Valkyrie stated, "His sister," she gestured at Thor, looking to him, "Her power comes from Asgard, same as yours…" she looked down as Hulk's ball rolled over to her, quickly scooping it up to toss it back, "When it grew beyond Odin's control, she massacred everyone in the palace and tried to seize the throne. When she tried to escape her banishment, he sent the Valkyrie in to fight her back. I only survived because..." she cut herself off suddenly, looking away.

"Someone else took a blow meant for you," Thor answered.

The Valkyrie looked at him sharply for his words, seeming surprised he could guess that.

It was not hard to work out. He had seen a similar expression in the mirror when the Dark Elves had invaded. When he saw Athena so injured she was near death. It wasn't the same as what he imagined the Valkyrie had been through, but he recognized the thought of losing someone you loved. She had witnessed a person she loved dearly killed before her. And for her to be alive, it was not a far cry to think this person died to save her, took a blow meant for her.

He would not trespass on the painful memory, he would not voice his theory out loud. The Valkyrie was a warrior and he respected any and all female warriors, she deserved her privacy and not someone forcing her to relive that horror. So he would not say another word about it.

"Look," the Valkyrie shook herself out of her shock, "I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything. THAT'S what's wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham."

Thor nodded, moving closer to her to rest a hand on her shoulder, "I agree."

Athena stepped closer as well, looking as though she were about to rush to aid when the Valkyrie grabbed his hand and twisted it slightly as she pulled it off her shoulder to face him.

"Don't get familiar," she glared.

Athena reached out, her hands held up in surrender a moment, moving slowly so the Valkyrie would see what she was doing as she reached out to grab Thor's wrist too, "Agreed."

The Valkyrie nodded, letting go of her hold on Thor.

"I didn't believe in the throne either," Thor tried to reason with her, "That's why I turned it down. But this isn't about the crown. This is about the _people_."

"They're dying and they're you're people, too," Athena agreed.

"If she is fighting for them, then you have no excuse not to," Thor remarked with a nod to Athena.

The Valkyrie snorted, "And why's that?"

"She is not of Asgard and yet she fights for them."

"And where is she from? Earth?"

"Olympus," Athena answered.

The Valkyrie actually stepped back at that, looking at her a moment, taking her in, her expression even more guarded, before she snorted, "Then I do have an excuse not to fight."

"What would that be?" Thor crossed his arms.

"You claim she cares for Asgard?" the Valkyrie looked between them, shaking her head, "I know of a time where she and her kind cared for nothing but power and oppression. I would not be shocked if she was fighting Hela to take her place and seize the crown for herself."

Athena tensed at her words, "Then you have been here a _very_ long time," she kept calm, not rising to the bait, "Those days have long since passed."

But the Valkyrie just shook her head and looked away, though Athena noticed how she was kept in the woman's periphery, the Valkyrie clearly suspicious and wary of her now.

"I trust Athena with my life," Thor vouched for her.

"Then you are a fool," the Valkyrie told him with a hard look.

"She has proven herself to be loyal," Thor continued, stepping up, "Wise, repentant, and humble. I would not be the man I am if not for her."

"Also would have been dead by now if I'd really wanted the throne," Athena tried to joke, not wanting to lose the sway Thor had almost gotten over the woman just because of her own dark past.

But the Valkyrie just held up her hands and started walking backwards from them, "Just forget it. I have."

"You really haven't," Athena told her, "Or you wouldn't be drinking so much."

"And what do you know about my life, my struggles?" the Valkyrie demanded.

"I know what being ashamed feels like," Athena told her, allowing herself to be open and honest with the woman, knowing such a skilled warrior would sense any falsehood. A part of her wanted the woman to know she wasn't like that anymore, she wasn't that person, "I know what feeling like you've failed every oath you've ever made is. And I've seen those suffering the same drink to forget, but it won't work. It _never_ works."

"All due respect," the Valkyrie muttered, not sounding at all like she was offering respect, "But I don't care. You do you, I do me."

Thor glanced at Athena, asking with his eyes if she wanted him to speak up, to defend her more, knowing how she felt about those days, how hard she worked to put it behind her. But she shook her head, lightly swaying a hand that was in a fist at her side to draw his attention to it. He nodded, understanding and turned a forced smile at the Valkyrie, he wasn't happy to let this argument go, but Athena was right, they didn't have the time to stand there and convince the warrior otherwise, "Ok."

The woman paused, seeming confused that he was giving in so quickly, "Ok?"

He nodded, "Good. Great."

"...great."

"And thank you."

She frowned, "For what?"

Athena raised her fist, "For this," and opened her fingers to reveal that she had nicked the control device off her waist when Thor had distracted her. A little trick her brother Hermes had taught her, he was quite the thief when he wanted to be. Athena gave her a smile and pushed a button, releasing the discs from her neck and Thor's, freeing them, "Much better."

"You know," Thor glanced at the Valkyrie, who did not seem happy at all with this turn of events, "Go ahead. Stay here and get drunk and enslave people for that lunatic. Keep drinking. Keep hiding. But us?" he held up a hand to Hulk to toss him the ball, "We choose to run toward our problems and not away from them. Because that's what..." he turned suddenly and hurled the ball at the window, intending to smash it, only for it to bounce back and smack him in the head, sending him to the ground though it did create a large crack in the window.

Athena merely held out a hand to haul him up without a word, neither of them had expected the ball to bounce back as the window had seemed fragile enough, earning a nod of thanks in return.

"Because that's what heroes do," Thor finished, before gripping her hand tighter as the two turned and ran, bracing themselves to smash through the cracked portion.

It was a good thing that they had planned this out. They wanted to give the Hulk and Valkyrie a chance to come with them, to assist, but they'd made their choice. Examining the room, they knew they could make it out the window. No one would be mad enough to throw themselves out the window, especially when they were the champions and treated like royalty so the windows weren't as reinforced or protected as the doorways were. They either died in the ring or were kept in the cells. The windows weren't thick, they could break through. And they were not just mere mortals, they could survive the fall, not that they planned to fall.

They pushed themselves off the side of the building, using the momentum to land closer to the junkyard, though in the middle of the streets. They took only a moment to get their bearings, to work out which direction to go before they were off.

~8~

The junkyard was just as large and decrepit as they'd remembered it, but they'd marked the direction of the Quinjet from Hulk's room and learned the nearby debris that could help them find their way to it. But it was still a massive area to run through, made dangerous as well by the pieces of space junk haphazardly drifting from the wormholes.

But they were not warriors for nothing, they were fast and accurate, and managed to find the Quinjet quickly enough. They rushed in, immediately going to the controls, trying to power the jet on.

"Alright, come on…" Thor muttered, pressing buttons.

Athena flipped a switch and hit another button, looking up just somewhat shocked when the flight deck powered up, "Yes!"

Thor, who was near a scanner, placed his hand down on it, lighting it up green as a computerized voice called out, "Voice verification required."

"Thor," he stated.

"Access denied."

Thor frowned at that, "Thor, son of Odin."

"Access denied."

"God of Thunder?"

"Access denied."

"Strongest Avenger!"

"Access denied."

" _Strongest Avenger_!" he repeated, more firmly.

"Access denied."

"Athena," she tried, but was denied as well, "Goddess of Wisdom?"

Thor rubbed his head, realizing what code to use, "Damn you, Stark," he muttered, before sighing and calling out, "Point Break."

"Welcome, Point Break," the computerized voice called.

Before Athena could even begin to comment on that, or ask what her code was in this jet, there was a crashing and crunching noise behind them, causing them to whirl around to see the Hulk was barging in, scowling at them and tearing apart the jet to get in further.

"No, Hulk stop!" Athena shouted, as he proceeded to destroy the ship they'd been hoping to escape in, "Don't smash!"

"Friends _stay_!" Hulk was roaring.

"No, no, no!" Thor frantically hit a few buttons, trying to get the ship to work, but Hulk had destroyed too much of it.

"Stay!"

"Stop!" Athena tried to kick one of Hulk's arms away as he made to punch more of the machinery, sending to bashing into another control which seemed to trigger something as a monitor flickered on, a recording of Natasha starting to play.

"Nice work, big guy," her voice filled the room, "We don't know where Ultron's headed, but you're going very high, very fast," Athena and Thor became very still as the Hulk seemed to slow in his attacks, drawn in by Natasha's voice, by her image, "So, I need you to turn this bird around, ok? We can't track you in stealth mode..." Athena shuffled more to the side, letting Hulk get closer to the screen, "So I need you to help me out. Ok? I need you to..."

"NO!" Hulk suddenly roared, stumbling back and almost clawing at his neck, "No, Banner!" he began to convulse, dropping to his knees, his body warping and twisting, shaking his head, fighting, but they could see it, the faint traces of Banner coming through.

Athena gasped and jumped back, avoiding a swing as Hulk thrashed, resisting the transformation, destroying more and more of the jet as he went. Until, suddenly, he went calm, lying back on the ground, panting, his body starting to shrink back to that of a human, the skin lightening…

Thor ran to his side, trying to soothingly speak to him, easing the transition, "Banner. Hey, hey, hey. You alright, Banner? Sun's going down. Sun's going down. That's it, breathe. We won't hurt you. Sun's going down."

"Here," Athena hurried over with what looked like a tarp in her hand, resting it over Banner's bottom half, trying to help preserve his modesty.

"…Thor?" Banner wheezed, looking startled to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see, "Athena?" he breathed as the woman helped him sit.

"Yeah," Athena reassured him, "It's us."

Banner looked between them, getting caught up on something with Thor as he frowned at the man, "What happened to your hair?"

"We don't ask about the hair," Athena whispered to him, patting his shoulder.

"Some creepy old man cut it off," Thor grouched.

"It looks good," Banner offered, "Where are we? How's Nat?"

"Natasha is…fine," Athena offered, "As best I know."

"And what about Sokovia?"

"Sokovia?" Thor frowned.

"The city, Sokovia. Did we save it?" he looked between the two gods once more when they shared a deep, concerned look, "What?"

"Sokovia, Ultron, that was two years ago," Athena told him gently.

Banner gaped at them, "What are you saying? I've been Hulk for two years?"

"I'm afraid so," Thor nodded.

"What the hell happened?" he struggled to his feet, swaying as Athena moved to steady him.

"Banner, there's something you should know..."

But Bruce ignored him, hurrying to the flight console, pressing a button to trigger the voice activation, "Banner."

"Welcome, Strongest Avenger," the voice responded.

"What?!" Thor demanded at that.

"Ship's log," Banner ignored him, quickly reading the fragments of information that the screen displayed. There were clips of the Hulk in the jet, in space, thrashing around, before his face drew closer, looking frightened and stressed, before it cut out, not offering much information, "Where are we?"

"Yeah…about that…"

Before he or Athena could explain what had happened, to the best of their knowledge, the Grandmaster's voice echoed all around the jet, his image projected onto his tower which they could see through the windshield of the jet, calling out, "It's bad news, bad news today. Sakaar, hear ye. Attention please. I have some bad news. My beloved, exalted Champion has turned up missing. Take to the streets. Celebrate my champion."

"Who's that?" Banner asked.

"He's called the Grandmaster," Athena explained, "He's the leader of this planet

"You actually lived in his house," Thor offered.

Banner frowned, not seeming to have any recollection of his time as Hulk, "I did?"

"Yeah. Quite a lot's happened. You, Athena, and I had a fight recently."

"Did I win?"

"No, we won. Easily."

"Doesn't sound right."

"We would have won, had the Grandmaster not cheated and crippled us as we were making the winning blow," Athena cut in with the truth.

"It seems," the Grandmaster continued, "That that criminally seductive Lord of Thunder has stolen him away with his minxy little sidekick, Tina."

" _Athena_ ," she huffed.

Thor was more caught up on, "Seductive GOD of Thunder."

Athena shook her head, "We need to move."

"Oh, no," Banner began to panic, "This is bad. This is really, really bad. I think I'm freaking out."

"It's alright," Athena quickly reassured him, "It's fine, you've got us and we're going to make sure everything is ok."

"Put these on," Thor offered, tossing some clothing he'd found in a compartment over to Banner.

"These are Tony's clothes," Banner eyed them.

"I know, come on."

"Is he here?"

"No," Athena shook her head, "No other Avengers here but us."

Thor put a hand on Banner's shoulder, leading him to a more closed off area to change, repeating, "Just stay calm, ok? The sun's going down. The sun's getting really low. Sun's going down…" as they went.

~8~

They hadn't made it far into the streets of Sakaar, before Banner was collapsing in on himself on a random stoop, anxious and still very freaked out. Thor and Athena quickly dropped down to sit on either side of him. Thor was trying to repeat Natasha's lullaby, but it didn't have the same affect, only seeming to make Banner more irritable.

"Would you stop saying that!?" he snapped.

"We just need you to stay calm," Thor tried to explain.

" _Calm_!? I'm on an alien planet!"

"It's just a planet," Athena reassured him, nudging him and trying to keep his spirits light, "You've been on a planet before."

"Yeah! One!"

"Now you've been on two," Thor smiled, "That's a good thing. It's a new experience."

"My neurons, they're firing faster than my brain can handle the information. The whole thing is totally different this time. In the past, I always felt like Hulk and I each had a hand on the wheel, but this time it's like he had the keys and I was locked in the trunk!"

Athena looked away a moment at the analogy, it was hitting a little close to home given her encounter with the Valkyrie, her remarks about knowing what happened during the Dark Days. That was how it felt like when she and her family started to fight back against the darkness and the corruption that had infected them. There were days where she would feel like the other her, the monstrous version of her, had locked her away, and then it began to feel like she was the one locking the monster away, never to be released.

"Alright, well, you're back now," Thor spoke, wanting to keep Banner focused, "That's all that matters."

"No, it's not what matters. What I'm trying to tell you, is that if I turn into the Hulk again, Banner may never come back. And we're stranded on a planet that is designed to stress me out!"

"We're not stranded," Athena shook her head, focusing once more, "We WILL find a way out of here."

Banner gave her a small smile at that, feeling just a little more reassured from how firmly she'd said that. He was a smart man, but if the literal goddess of intelligence said they'd find a way, he believed her a little more than Thor, "Thank you."

"We just have to make a stop at Asgard first," Thor had to add, earning an almost-glare from Athena.

"What?!" Banner turned to him.

"Listen, my people are in great danger. The three of us, we have to fight this really powerful being, who also happens to be my sister."

"Ok, that is so wrong on so many...I don't wanna fight your sister. That's a family issue."

"No, she's an evil being."

"I don't care what she is. I'm not fighting any more beings. I'm sick of it. I just told you. If I turn into the Hulk, I am never gonna come back again. And you don't care."

"You won't have to," Athena tried to reason, "Your mind is a much more powerful weapon than the Hulk's brute strength…"

"But I thought he was going to be the fire on the team," Thor murmured to her.

"Are you just using me to get to the Hulk?" Banner turned an accusing look to Thor.

"What? No!"

"It's gross. You don't care about me. You're not my friend," he pointed at Thor with a glare, before moving the finger to Athena, "You, you're my friend."

"I don't even like the Hulk!" Thor argued, "He's all like...'smash, smash, smash.' I prefer you."

Banner scoffed at that, "Thanks."

"But if I'm being honest, when it comes to fighting evil beings, he is very powerful and useful."

"And as I said," Athena gave Thor another pointed look, trying to silently tell him to stop talking if he didn't want to get Banner stressed, "Dr. Banner's mind is powerful and useful too."

"Fine, fine," he relented, "He doesn't have to fight anyone. But we ARE in danger here, so we have to move," he looked around a moment before reaching out to grab a towel on the ground, draping it over his head.

Athena rolled her eyes and reached out, yanking it off him, "That's a terrible disguise," she remarked, glancing around cautiously, before stepping down onto the street, the men following.

A/N: Yay, Banner's back! :D I felt so bad for him in the movie, waking up with two years of his life missing :( But he's back now :)

But the Valkyrie, hmm...so she's heard of Athena and her family, knows about the Dark Days even, and she clearly doesn't trust Athena. I wonder if that will change or get worse... }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Athena definitely tried to get through to the Valkyrie, not sure if it worked though :( The Valkyrie seems to not trust her much so I could see her sort of brushing off what Athena says :(

I don't know if I'd write a Fred/OC story, like I love the twins, they were great, but an OC just hasn't popped up yet :/ I feel like if I tried to do an OC with the Marauders it might end up being a Lily/Snape story because I feel like the OC would just go at James for being as much of a bully as he was, which might give Snape another friend, and keep him from making mistakes with Lily or the Dark Arts, and I really am not a fan of Snape so that might be an uncomfortable story lol. I don't really look at shows or movies or books and go 'I'm going to add an OC in here because xyz' they more just randomly pop into my head without any control so it really depends on who pops up where ;) But always a chance something might come up in the future ;)


	7. New Allies

New Allies

Almost the exact moment the trio stepped into the crowd, they were swept off by a parade being thrown, it was a massive festival of people dancing and cheering, throwing powdered paint bombs at each other, all green in color, celebrating the Hulk. There was green everywhere, which was not helping Banner keep calm. Athena looked around, her eyes keen as she tried to find a possible way out of the mass of people, frowning when she saw a small pack of Scrappers clearly looking around more than reveling. They were obviously taking the Grandmaster up on trying to find his champion, there was likely some rather large reward for his return.

"Scrappers," she called to Thor, nodding in their direction.

He gave a nod in return, turning to try and move Banner somewhere else, not wanting to risk the Hulk coming out when there was a danger like that. He quickly grabbed the man as he nearly got swept away farther, pulling him back to another alley, Athena backing up with them, keeping watch while Thor handled the mortal. They should be safe, none of the people really looked like they were searching for Banner, or noticing her and Thor, except the Scrappers. She nearly backed right into Thor when he stopped suddenly. She looked over her shoulder to see the Valkyrie approaching them from down the other end of the alley.

"This is bad," Thor muttered, tightening his hold on Banner before they hurried out into the crowd once more.

"He's caught!" Athena shouted suddenly, only loud enough for Thor to hear and he turned wildly to see that the person he'd grabbed was somehow not Banner but another, small alien, "There!" she pointed at Banner who was across the crowd, being pushed and pulled by their momentum.

Thor took the lead, muscling his way through the people, half knocking some to the side until they could reach Banner. The moment they were within reach, Thor pulled Banner to him, cradling him almost protectively as he looked around.

Athena tensed, watching his back, when one of the aliens he'd knocked to the side turned to glare at them, revealing itself to be a massive Scrapper. It reared up, about to lunge at them, Athena ready to take it down before it could draw attention to them…when, out of nowhere, it dropped to the ground when the Valkyrie hit it with a solid right hook.

"Impressive," Athena remarked, noting the display of strength and skill away with everything else she'd learned about the woman.

Thor spun around at her words, tensing when he saw the Valkyrie approach, "Hi?"

"Hi," the Valkyrie deadpanned.

"What are you doing here?" Athena asked, not having relaxed from her tense position. If the Valkyrie meant to take them back to the Grandmaster, she was not going to make it easy for the woman.

She wasn't ill prepared either. She had research the Valkyrie, during her time in Asgard. She may not know how they died out, though she did now, but she knew enough about them. She'd read about their training strategies, their initiations, she'd seen their strength in the one before her. She could reasonably estimate what the woman was capable of based on that and even thinking back to the Amazons, basic training regiments, and more. Just because the Valkyrie had been drunk for most of their encounters, didn't mean she wasn't observing how the woman reacted or her actions. Drunk or not, some reactions were instinct by now, a warrior's habit.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the woman countered, "I thought you were leaving."

"We got sidetracked," Thor defended, before frowning when he noticed she looked a little more sober, ready for battle, her hair even pulled back tighter and out of the way, "Your hair looks nice. I like what you did with it. Change it? Washed it maybe?"

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes and moved to grab Thor's arm, but Athena stepped in to block the reach, still not trusting that the woman didn't mean to turn them in. Valkyrie glared at her and moved to try and shove the block away, but Athena responded quickly enough. Thor watched, amused, as the two women engaged in dealing small blows with their hands and fists, until Athena managed to grab the Valkyrie's one wrist in a tight hold, angled just so that the woman couldn't pull it away. The Valkyrie moved to jab towards Athena's stomach, a small dagger in her hand, clearly not intending to stab her, but wanting to show the woman she would have to surrender. But Athena had anticipated it, Loki often would try a similar move the few times they dueled, grabbing the woman's wrist and twisting herself under the Valkyrie's arms so fast that even Thor was startled to see it, ending up with the warrior's one arm twisted behind her and the other, with the dagger, held against her own neck.

"Nice skills," Athena smirked, "But no one touches Thor, understood?"

The Valkyrie grit her teeth but gave a small nod, Athena gently shoving her away, moving her hands to her hips as the Valkyrie put her dagger away, "Likewise," she gave Athena a somewhat respectful nod, actually sounding impressed that Athena had managed to get one over on her, and, perhaps, a little more believing of the thought that Athena truly meant no harm to Thor or the throne if she stepped in so quickly and easily to defend him, "You'll have to teach me that."

Athena gave her a look, "Hard to do if you're here and I'm on Asgard."

The Valkyrie smirked, "Then you'd best follow me."

Thor and Athena exchanged a look, Athena deferring to Thor who nodded, trusting the other Asgardian, before they turned to follow her off into the crowd.

"What are those things on her eyes?" Banner asked them quietly, remarking about the silver lines by the Valkryie's eyes, "Are those the people that she's killed? She's so beautiful and strong..."

The Valkyrie snorted at that, "Who is this guy?"

"He's a friend," Thor explained.

"Who, me?" Banner pointed at himself, a little startled she was taking an interest in him, "I'm Bruce."

~8~

The trio quietly followed the Valkyrie as she led them into a Sakaarian apartment building of sorts, the woman having cast glances back at Banner the entire way with a frown on her face, "I feel like I know you," she remarked.

And Banner nodded, still looking at the woman with a kind of awe, "I feel like I know you too!"

"As fascinating as that is," Thor cut in, "Why are we here?"

The Valkyrie sighed, turning down a hallway, "Look, I've spent years in a haze trying to forget my past. Sakaaar seemed like the best place to drink and forget and to die one day."

"Hard to die when you're not a contender and the time on this planet is infinite," Athena mumbled.

The Valkyrie looked at her, a small frown on her face, "How do you know that?"

"Besides how the Grandmaster manipulates it?" Athena shook her head, knowing she meant the 'time' part of her remark more than the Contender portion, the woman was clearly a Scrapper and not a Contender, "My grandfather was the god of time, I suppose I'm a little more sensitive to the feel of it."

"Though," Thor commented, "I was thinking that she drink too much, and that probably would have killed her eventually. It's good that you plan to stop."

The Valkyrie gave him a dry look, "I don't plan to stop drinking, but I don't want to forget. As much as it pains me to admit, you were right," she looked at Athena, "No amount of drinking will ever erase what happened. Believe me, I've tried. I can't turn away anymore. So, if I'm gonna to die, well...it may as well be driving my sword through the heart of that murderous hag."

"Fair enough," Athena agreed, nodding as well.

"Yeah," the Valkyrie slowed as they came upon a door, turning to face them, "So I'm saying that I wanna be on the team. Has it got a name?"

"Yeah," Thor grinned, "It's called the Revengers."

Athena bowed her head into her hand and shook it. At least this confirmed, if she and Thor ever had children, he was not allowed to name them.

The Valkyrie seemed to be of the same feeling, "Revengers?"

"Because I'm getting revenge. Athena's getting revenge. You're getting revenge," he glanced at Banner, "Do you want revenge?"

Banner scoffed, "I'm undecided."

"Ok."

"We'll work on it," Athena offered.

The Valkyrie nodded, "Also, I've got a peace offering," before reaching out to open the door beside her, revealing a small apartment, one that was quite…cluttered would be a nice way to put it. But truly it was a mess. There were bottles everywhere, blood soaked clothes in the corner, a knife embedded in the wall, though the part that truly startled the trio was Loki sitting in the middle of it, on a small chair, tied up with more than a dozen chains encircling him.

"Surprise," Loki spoke in a dry tone.

Athena reached over and grabbed a nearby empty bottle on a counter, throwing it at Loki's head, only for it to bounce off.

"Ow!"

Thor smirked, knowing why she'd done it, "Just had to be sure," he defended her actions, he was not a projection this time.

"Hello, Bruce," Loki smirked at Banner.

Banner shook his head at the god, "So, last time I saw you, you were trying to kill everybody. Where are you at these days?"

Loki shrugged as best he could in his bonds, "It varies from moment to moment."

Thor and Athena looked over, hearing something rustle, to see the Valkyrie had placed something on a small bed in the corner, unwrapping it from a cloth to reveal a very thin, very sharp, very dark Asgardian blade. Thor's eyes instantly widened as he realized what it was, getting a better view of it when the woman went to sharpen it.

"Is that...a _Dragonfang_?" Thor breathed, awed.

"It is," the Valkyrie smirked.

"My god," he stepped closer to observe it while Athena looked between them, curious at his reaction. He looked at her then, explaining his excitement, mistaking her own expression for confusion, "This is the famed sword of the Valkyrie!"

"Made of a dragonfang?" Athena guessed.

"Yes! Do you know how RARE that is?!"

Athena patted him on the shoulder, "I'll ask Hephaestus to make one for you for your coronation."

He gaped at her, turning to grab her by both shoulders, "You have _dragonfang_ swords on Olympus?!"

"Thor," she laughed, "You were _there_. You visited his forge, surely you saw…"

"He got very huffy about people being in his forge," Thor muttered with a small pout, crossing his arms, "Hardly got to see anything. He made me stand outside and watch through a window!"

Athena patted his arm again, "Would a dragonfang sword make up for such a travesty?"

He considered it before nodding, "Maybe two…"

Athena shook her head at him, "After we get Asgard back," she promised. She had to remind himself that, while he had seen much of Olympus when they were there last, he hadn't seen all of it, he hadn't seen the dragons. They were far more common in her home than his, apparently.

The Valkyrie nodded, "Sakaar and Asgard are about as far apart as any two known systems. Our best bet is a wormhole just outside the city limits. Refuel on Xandar and be back in Asgard in around 18 months."

"Hela will have truly destroyed everything by then," Athena shook her head, she couldn't imagine the damage that Hela could do in 18 hours let alone 18 months.

"Nope," Thor agreed, "We're going through that one!" he pointed out the window to the monstrous wormhole he'd seen before, the large one that swirled like a nightmarish tornado in the middle of the planet.

"The Devil's Anus?" the Valkyrie asked.

"Who comes up with these names?" Athena grimaced at the ridiculous term. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the Grandmaster, the man seemed to take nothing serious.

"Wait, whose anus are we going through?" Banner nearly choked on air.

Thor shared Athena's grimace, "For the record, I didn't know it was called that when I picked it."

Banner moved closer to the window to see it better, squinting as he examined it, "That looks like a collapsing neutron star inside of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge."

"Do you think it will work?" Athena looked at him.

"I think so, yeah."

The Valkyrie sighed, "We need another ship. That would tear mine to pieces."

Thor nodded, "She's right. We need one that can withstand the geodetic strain from the singularity."

Banner shot him a quizzical look for his very right answer.

"Just because our people call your science 'magic,'" Athena explained, "Doesn't mean we don't understand it or how it works."

Banner had to concede that, "We also need a ship that has an offline power steering system that could also function without the on-board computer."

"And we need one with cup holders," the Valkyrie added, earning confused looks from the others, "Because we're gonna die. So, drinks!"

Banner shook his head, "Do I know you? I feel like I know you."

"I feel like I know you, too. It's weird."

Thor chuckled and clapped Banner on the shoulder, "What do you say, doctor? Uncharted metagalactic travel through a volatile cosmic gateway. Talk about an adventure."

Banner laughed and tried to give Thor a high-five only for the god to fist-bump his palm instead.

"We need a ship," Athena reminded them, all the planning and adventure ahead would mean nothing if they couldn't get off the planet.

"There are one or two ships," the Valkyrie told them, "Absolute top-of-the-line models…"

"I don't mean to impose," Loki called, "But the Grandmaster has a great many ships. I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system."

The Valkyrie scoffed, throwing the bottle she'd begun drinking at him, hitting the wall just above his head and smashing, "And suddenly you're overcome with an urge to do the right thing."

Athena scoffed, "He'd do whatever it takes to save his own skin."

"I've run out of favor with the Grandmaster," Loki remarked with a false sigh, "And in exchange for codes and access to a ship I'm asking for safe passage...through the anus."

Thor glanced at Athena a moment before focusing on Loki, "You're telling us you can get us access into the garage without setting off any alarms?"

Loki smirked, "Yes, brother. I can."

"Ok, can I just…" Banner shifted uncomfortably, turning the others to speak to them quietly, "A quick FYI, I was just talking to him just a couple minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill any of us."

"He _did_ try to kill me," the Valkyrie agreed.

"And us, a few times," Athena gestured between her and Thor.

"Yes, many, many occasions," Thor reminisced, "There was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, 'Yeah, it's me!' And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time."

"We'll need a distraction," Athena remarked, getting back on topic, drawing up a battle strategy, "Draw the guards away from the palace."

"Why not set the beast loose?" Loki called.

"Shut up," Thor shouted back, not even turning to look at the man.

"You guys have a beast?" the Valkyrie frowned.

"No, there's no beast. He's just being stupid."

"Korg," Athena thought out loud.

"Corks?" Banner shook his head, not following.

Thor just began to smile, "Brilliant," he told Athena, pressing a quick kiss to her hair, "We're going to start a revolution!"

"A cork revolution?"

"We'll explain later," Thor waved it off.

"Who's this guy again?" the Valkyrie eyed Banner.

"We'll explain later," Athena said this time.

~8~

Athena shifted the weight of her sword and shield in her hand as she walked with Thor and Loki, making sure no one had tampered with it. They had a good plan, given how…inept the Grandmaster actually was, it should work, especially when the Goddess of Wisdom herself helped put it together, he wouldn't stand a chance. They'd already raided the armory, needing to stock up on weapons for any lingering guards. She had been delighted to find her weapons still there, Thor and Loki more going for the biggest weapons they could find and carry with them.

The Valkyrie and Banner were going to focus on the distraction, releasing the revolution that Korg had talked about before getting to the Valkyrie's ship to join them. She had access to the cells as well as a way to disarm the discs of pain, being a Scrapper. All she had to do was go down there and release the prisoners from the hold the discs had. Once the doors were open, the prisoners would be free to make it to the armory, grab what weapons they could and have at the planet itself. They trusted Valkyrie to be able to get them to the rendezvous point where they would meet with the ship in question.

Given what Loki and the Valkyrie knew of the security systems, the revolution should be enough to draw the Grandmaster away, towards the arena, to try and stamp it down. He'd probably take guards with him, leaving the palace slightly less protected. Their escape would be a little harrowing, once all was said and done, the Grandmaster was sure to notice a ship leaving his own personal collection even if the alarms didn't trigger at first. They'd be flying close enough to the arena to reach the wormhole that they were sure to be noticed. The Grandmaster's ship would be very large, and be very keen to keep them there, but if they picked the ship that the Valkyrie described, they should be able to out run it. They just had to get to the ship first.

Which was why Athena and Thor stood with Loki in the ground level of the Grandmaster's palace as the trickster put in the codes to the security panel. Thor was closer to the man, making sure he was actually putting codes in instead of betraying them again. Athena was farther away, keeping watch down the hall for any guards that might be lingering.

"Hey," Thor began as Athena glanced over to see he was talking more to Loki than herself, "So listen, we should talk."

"I disagree," Loki muttered, "Open communication was never our family's forte."

"At least your communication never drove the humans to war for 10 years," Athena remarked offhandedly.

Her father had once refused to pick between her and two other women in the family for who was the fairest, his refusal to talk, and probably their refusal to listen, ended up leading humans to slaughtering each other for 10 years straight and besiege the city of Troy. It should have been one of the clues that things were not right with her family, how they hadn't tried to stop it but took sides and fought against each other instead. They'd cared more about spiting a single human that they hadn't cared who was hurt in the process, the destruction that came from it. So many clues, so many hints, yet they'd been blind to what they were becoming.

"Odin kept more than just Hela from us," Thor began again, "I've had quite the revelation since we spoke last, Loki."

Athena hurried back to Thor's side as the doors opened, only to reveal a mass of guards on the other side. She pulled out her sword and shield, infinitely happy that she'd been able to grab them from the armory before they'd gone to get the ship, having argued they'd need weapons for any wayward guards. Thor and Loki had gone a bit more high tech, pulling up two very large Sakaarian guns.

"Hello," Thor smiled, before he and Loki opened fire, Athena with her back to them incase any guards snuck up from behind. A moment later the guards were down and they were moving through the door to another one.

"Odin brought us together," Loki muttered, "It's almost poetic that his death should split us apart. We might as well be strangers now. 'Two sons of the crown' set adrift."

Loki didn't even flinch as a guard tried to ambush him through the door, Athena taking the man down with a shield to his face.

"Thought you didn't want to talk about it?" Thor commented, stepping past the door with the others and into an elevator. The contraption started to move up, the three just waiting in silence a moment before Loki spoke again.

"Here's the thing. I'm probably better off staying here on Sakaar."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Thor remarked.

Loki paused at that, his mouth open to argue about the reasons why, and then realized what the man had said, "...did you just agree with me?"

Thor shrugged, "This place is perfect for you."

"Savage, chaotic, lawless," Athena listed.

"Brother, you're going to do GREAT here."

Athena glanced at Loki out of the corner of her eye, standing on the left of him while Thor stood on the right, neither about to let him out of their sight. The man was standing rigidly, but actually seemed quite thrown by what Thor had said. If she didn't know Loki better, she might have said he was affected.

"Do you truly think so little of me?" Loki asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Thor looked at him a long while before he sighed, "Loki, I thought _the world_ of you. I thought we were gonna fight side by side forever. I thought I could trust you, with everything…"

Athena didn't miss the way his gaze had flickered to her when he said that. It was something they had talked about, after Loki's many betrayals. How much it hurt Thor to know his brother had fallen so far, how…scared he was of all the things that could have happened because, for a time, he'd trusted Loki. She was not unaware of the nightmares Thor still suffered every so often. He would wake up in such a fear, seeking her out, needing to be sure she was still there, still alive. The first time, she had feared he knew of the Dark Days, that he dreamed of what she'd become, but then he'd explained it was about Loki. He would dream they were back on Asgard, before all this, that he would trust Loki to protect her, to guard her, while he had to go do a task for Odin…only to return to her dead at Loki's hand. It terrified him to think that Loki could have so easily killed her while his back was turned, merely because he trusted his brother.

She had reminded him that, even if he had trusted Loki, there was no way she'd ever let anyone else get close enough to her to kill her. Loki was skilled, sneaky, and manipulative, but she was a warrior as well and could protect herself even from him. It did little to reassure him, he would likely never forgive himself for the unknowing danger he'd put her in with his trust.

"But, at the end of the day, you're you, I'm me," Thor continued, sounding like he sincerely regretted that fact, "I don't know, maybe there's still good in you, but let's be honest, our paths diverged a long time ago."

Athena looked away at the openly wounded look on Loki's face as the man struggled to compose himself again. There was only so far you could push someone before they just couldn't anymore. Thor would always see Loki as his brother, but he'd finally reached a point where the trust they'd once had was broken, where he had to put the lives of others over his hope for Loki's redemption. And it appeared Loki had realized he'd finally pushed Thor to that point.

"It's probably for the best that we never see one another again," Loki spoke quietly.

Thor nodded, reaching out to pat Loki on the shoulder, "That's what you always wanted," he reminded the man, waiting a moment as they fell to silence again before speaking, "Hey, let's do 'Get Help.'"

Athena snorted at that, struggling to contain her smile as she recalled the times the two had done that in the past.

"What?" Loki did not sound pleased.

"'Get Help.'"

"No."

"Come on, you love it."

"I'm pretty sure he loathes that method," Athena remarked.

"But it's great! It works every time."

"It's _humiliating_ ," Loki argued.

"Do you have a better plan?" Thor asked, subtly shaking his head at Athena as she raised her hand to say that she did indeed have quite a few plans.

Loki sighed, "No."

"We're doing it."

Athena had to bite her lip and look away to keep from laughing at Loki's murderous look.

"We're NOT doing 'Get Help,'" Loki said, as though it was final.

Athena could tell by the look on Thor's face that, somehow, someway, they certainly WOULD be doing 'Get Help' before those doors opened.

~8~

The elevator doors opened to the floor that held all the Grandmaster's ships, a handful of guards rushing about. Thor, with Loki's arm draped over his shoulder, the trickster leaning heavily on him and slumped forward as though truly injured, hurried out, Athena trying to keep somewhat hidden behind him, as he called out, "Get help! Please! My brother, he's dying!"

The guards rushed over, whether to actually help or to apprehend them, they didn't know, but it made no difference for Thor grabbed Loki and picked him up, flinging him at the guards to knock them all down in one go.

"Look at that," Athena remarked, eyeing the downed soldiers, "It still works."

"Classic," Thor nodded.

Loki, however, glared as he pushed himself up, "I still hate it. It's humiliating."

"Not to us, it's not," Athena chuckled lightly.

Thor looked around at the numerous levels and types of ships lining the large room, "Which one's the ship she told us to get?"

Loki pointed at one, a sleek, quite new looking, and very solid ship, "The Commodore."

Athena glanced back, making it seem like she was turning to Thor, but was more checking on Loki out of the corner of her eye and shook her head, seeing a duplicate form of him following them while the real him slunk back and rushed off. Thor turned to offer her a smile, which quickly grew more serious when he saw her frown. He nodded, understanding what she meant when she shook her head and held up two fingers in front of her where Loki couldn't see.

"Though I feel it won't make much of a difference..." Loki continued to speak as he followed them, or the duplicate of himself followed.

Thor let out a breath and turned, not even attempting to pretend that he was unaware, moving straight through the duplicate, causing it to disappear as he headed for Loki, Athena beside him. He looked up when alarms suddenly started to blare, Loki at a control panel, having turned them on.

"Oh, Loki," he sighed, not at all surprised.

Loki spun around to see them standing there, and quickly began to throw out excuses, "I know I've betrayed you many times before, but this time it's truly nothing personal. The reward for your capture will set me up nicely."

"Never one for sentiment, were you?" Thor eyed the last alarm Loki set off.

"Easier to let it burn."

Athena let out a long breath and held up a device in her hand, the same control device the Valkyrie had used to control the discs on their necks. Loki frowned at it, before following her gaze to his shoulder, where Thor had patted him just before…and stuck a disc on him too.

"It's always the hard way with you," Athena murmured, pressing the control and shocking Loki to the point he hit the ground, convulsing in pain. She stopped it a moment later, handing the device to Thor as he approached his fallen brother.

"Oh brother," Thor looked down at him sadly, "You're becoming predictable. I trust you, you betray me. Round and round in circles we go," he knelt down beside him, "See, Loki, life is about…it's about growth. It's about change. But you seem to just wanna stay the same. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you'll always be the God of Mischief, but you could be _more_ ," he pressed the control on the device once more and stood, "I'll just put this over here for you," before he placed it a good few feet away, just out of Loki's reach, "Anyway, we got places to be so…good luck."

Loki could only watch through the haze of pain as Athena held out a hand to Thor, the larger man taking it as they headed for the ship, ready to escape and leave him there for his crimes.

A/N: I felt so bad for Thor when Loki betrayed him yet again. I feel like, no matter how many times he does, it'll still hurt Thor each time :( But at least the Valkyrie is coming around just a little, maybe it was sobering up somewhat, maybe it was witnessing Athena protect Thor when it wasn't an arena watching, but curious if it'll continue... :)


	8. Escaping Sakaar

Escaping Sakaar

Thor sat in the cockpit of the ship, the Commodore, Athena behind him, scouring the ship for any weapons while he was examining the buttons and controls, "Alright, I can figure this out. It's just another spaceship…" he flicked switch and the doors to the hanger began to open, "Hang on!" he called back to Athena as he leaned forward on the throttle, sending the ship zooming off.

"Loyal Sakaarians," the Grandmaster's voice rang out through the comms., Athena making her way closer to the cockpit to watch as they flew out, "The Lord of Thunder has stolen my ship and my favorite champion. Sakaarians, take to the skies. Bring him and Tina down. Do not let them leave this planet."

"If he calls me Tina _one more time_..." Athena grumbled, making Thor chuckle.

All too soon things grew serious as the two gods caught sight of the ships that were rising off the planet's surface and racing after them. Thor tightened his grip on the controls, about to begin evasive maneuvers as two ships caught up to them, only for them to be blown out of the sky as another ship approached. Athena leaned forward to see Warsong fly past, the Valkyrie and Banner within, taking care of the other ships.

"Alright down there?" the Valkyrie called through the comms..

"Fine," Thor responded, "Thanks!"

"Open the doors."

Athena nodded, patting Thor on the shoulder to let him know she had that covered as she moved to the back and began to open all the ones she could find, not sure which door specifically the Valkyrie meant.

"I hope that you're tougher than you look!" the woman continued to speak, though it didn't sound like she was talking to them.

"Why?" Banner asked in return, confirming their thoughts.

Athena looked down into the hatch at the bottom of the ship, seeing Warsong accelerate till it was just underneath them. A moment later something seemed to be ejected out of it, Banner's screaming on the comms. confirming what had happened only moments before he was shot up into the ship through the hatch doors, landing in a heap on the floor. Athena hurried over to him, checking to make sure he wasn't injured, that he was still calm and not about to turn into the Hulk mid-flight, and he gave her a thumbs up as he caught his breath.

They all looked up at the sound of a clunking noise to see that the ship was being fired at by another. Athena helped Banner up, the two rushing towards the cockpit to see.

"Shouldn't we be shooting back or something?" Banner panted.

"Yes, we should," Thor answered.

"There are no guns on the ship," Athena told him.

Thor looked over his shoulder at her, "What do you mean there aren't any?"

"It's a leisure vessel," the Valkyrie answered over the comm..

"What?" all three of them called, she had neglected to warn them of that when they went to steal it.

"Grandmaster uses it for his good times, orgies and stuff."

Athena grimaced, she did NOT want to think of that. Having the misfortune of having Aphrodite and Dionysus as family, she'd heard tell of more than enough of that and had the bad luck to walk in on one or two. She was sure it had scared her for life.

...maybe THAT was why it had taken her this long to find a suitable partner like Thor.

Thor and Banner looked around at the actual ship though, noting the ceilings made of mirrors, the floor covered in some sort of fancy rug…

Banner seemed to be a little green, though not Hulk green, as he whispered at them, "Did she just say the Grandmaster uses it for _orgies_?"

"Yeah…" Thor responded slowly, now looking at the controls he'd been touching very warily, "Don't touch anything."

Athena turned, hearing more clunking noises from behind them, followed by a small explosion above. She leaned in to look out the windshield, "The Valkyrie's been hit."

They watched as the ship began to fall, but still fly, just underneath them now. They could hear the sound of firing, of more explosions behind them and knew she'd taken out the rest of the ships that had gotten behind them. A moment later, her ship shot out from under them, flying straight out ahead.

"What's she doing?" Banner asked, the three of them watching, helpless, as it raced towards a very large ship that looked like part of the Grandmaster's palace ahead of them, hovering over the city.

A moment later Warsong smashed into the larger ship, right into the middle of a projection of the Grandmaster, exploding and knocking the larger ship off balance, sending it careening out of the sky and into the ground.

"No!" Thor shouted, seeing the wreckage, the fire and smoke, right before his eyes the very last Valkyrie was no more…

"Wait, there!" Athena pointed suddenly, at a speck of something in the sky, ejected from the smoke and hurting towards them.

They winced as the Valkyrie hit the windshield, sliding across it but managing to grab hold. She was laughing wildly, beaming at them, "Did you see that?!" she shouted at them.

"Alright, alright," Athena called, "Get inside!"

Thor had just gotten the ship out from the main city and over the other junkyards, well on their way to the wormhole. But it was clear there were more fighter ships racing after them, at least six of them.

"Valkyrie!" Athena shouted at the woman, who was bracing herself on the side of the windshield and grinning at the other approaching ships even as they opened fire.

"In a minute!" the Valkyrie responded, not even trying to get into the craft but running down the top of it and launching herself off.

Athena shook her head and moved to open a side door, leaning out it to keep an eye on the mad woman. She watched as the Valkyrie landed hard on one of the Sakaarian ships, tearing it apart with her bare hands, "One down," she called to the men.

"I should probably go and help…" Thor began to say, starting to rise, "Here, take the wheel."

"No!" Banner reached out to grab his arm, "I don't know how to fly one of these!"

"You're a scientist. Use one of your PhDs."

"None of them are for flying alien spaceships!"

"It's alright," Athena cut in, smirking, waiting till they looked over at her to pull out her sword, "Let us girls handle this."

She gave Thor a wink and pulled herself onto the top of the ship. Much like the Valkyrie, she ran down the back of it and threw herself at another approaching ship. She stabbed right into it as she flew past it, using the sword to both slow her momentum but also cut the ship in half as she went. Any chance she could get to be away from the orgy ship she would take. If Thor had gone to help, she would have been stuck piloting the ship and she was not touching those controls with a ten foot pole.

"Now that's more like it!" the Valkyrie shouted at her.

Athena looked over to see the Valkyrie mimic her move, but with the underbelly of a ship, "Does that mean you trust me then?" she called over.

The Valkyrie used her momentum to throw herself on top of the ship she'd just sliced, looking over at her, "For the moment," she offered, "I suppose I have to."

Athena could only shake her head, but it was understandable. At least they seemed to have reached something of a truce for now. She turned and jumped onto another ship, using her sword and her bare hands to take out the guns firing at the Commodore and crush the engines.

They made quick work of the six ships, even passing each other mid-air as they leapt between them, until there were only two left. They looked over when the Commodore suddenly veered to the side, avoiding incoming fire.

"Topaz!" the Valkyrie called to Athena, pointing at a quite fast ship that was racing after Thor and Banner.

"What's he doing?!" Athena couldn't help but ask when suddenly fireworks shot out of the ship with massive plumes of powdered paint streaking after it, followed by a burst of colorful confetti, "Well, how about that…" she murmured, watching as Topaz's ship flew right into the smoke and then ended up crashing right down into the ocean.

She looked over, hearing a thump, to see the Valkyrie had joined her on the very last ship, the other one she'd been on exploding behind them.

"Shall we?" the Valkyrie asked, clapping her hands and rubbing them in preparation.

Athena gave her a firm nod and the Valkyrie reached out and grabbed the cockpit cover, yanking it off with her bare hands. Athena reached down and grabbed the pilot, tossing him out and leaning in just enough to kick the throttle forward, speeding towards the Commodore.

The Commodore went high suddenly, pulling up above them. They looked at each other and nodded, leaping up and managing to jump right through the open hatch door, landing on the floor of the ship. Banner was at the side controls and was quickly shutting the door after them just as the ship they'd been on crashed straight down and exploded under them.

"Alright?" Thor called back to them, still piloting the ship.

Athena just made her way over to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "How are we doing?"

"Looks like we're coming up on the Devil's Anus!" the Valkyrie warned.

"Can we please just call it 'the Wormhole?'" Athena nearly groaned, it was a disaster of a name and utterly disgusting.

The Valkyrie shrugged as she and Banner crowded into the cockpit with them. They were truly frighteningly close to the wormhole, the ship starting to shake against it as they grew nearer and nearer, "Here we go!"

The small team braced themselves as the ship was sucked into the wormhole, violently jerking from the power of it. The computer systems shorted out, cutting off the lights so that the only source of illumination was the storm that was the wormhole. The hull creaked, struggling to keep intact under the strain of pressure.

"Almost there!" Thor cried as they ship seemed to near the end.

But the closer they got, the more they could see through to the stars beyond, to the debris flying past, the more they felt like they themselves were being pulled apart. It was all they could do to keep from screaming at the pain of it…

A moment later the ship was launched out of the wormhole, into the quiet stillness of space, the four of them falling unconscious from the strain…

~8~

Slowly the team came to, waking to the sight of Asgard in the distance, a flat city in the middle of an island just floating in space.

"Asgard," Thor breathed, smiling at the sight of his home.

The Valkyrie swallowed hard, staring at the realm, her face a mix of emotions, "I never thought I'd be back here."

Athena put a hand on the woman's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as Thor hurriedly situated himself in the pilot's chair once more, directing the ship closer. They dipped below the clouds above Asgard and their hearts broke.

"I thought it'd be nicer," Banner remarked, "I mean, not that it's not nice. It's just...it's on _fire_ …"

And indeed it was. Asgard was all but in ruins, fires everywhere, buildings utterly wrecked. And through the smoke it didn't appear that there were any people on the streets, those that they could make out as they went lower were all dead, just left there. It was a _devastating_ sight to see.

"Thor…" Athena murmured, reaching out now to put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly to let him know she was there.

Thor was tense under her hand, staring down at his home, torn to pieces by his sister.

Athena had to look away the closer they got, closing her eyes but a moment to remind herself that this was _Asgard_ , this was not one of her memories of the old days come to life. She shook her head sharply and forced herself to look up again, now was not the time to get lost in dark thoughts, Thor was going to need her.

"Here," the Valkyrie tapped something on a control next to her, bringing up a screen to show what a scanner had picked up, "Up here in the mountains…" a map appeared, a blinking red dot lodged within a mountain, the stronghold Heimdall had mentioned, "Heat signatures. People clustered together."

"It won't be long before Hela goes after them," Athena remarked softly.

Thor nodded, "Ok," he took a breath, "We go to the palace, I'll draw her away."

"And get yourself killed?" the Valkyrie gaped at him, though Athena was silent, knowing how important this was to Thor both as an Asgardian and also as the next-to-be-King.

"The people trapped down there are all that matters," Thor stated, "While I'm dealing with Hela, I need you to help get everyone off Asgard," he turned to look at Athena, regret and sorrow in his eyes, but also a pleading. _He_ could deal with Hela, but he trusted _her_ to help his people.

She gave a soft nod and he raised a hand to rest his on top of hers on his shoulder, squeezing it in thanks.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Banner asked.

Thor smiled, "I have a man on the ground."

~8~

The palaces was in shambles. It was clear Hela had taken a special sort of pleasure in decimating certain areas of it. If she had never been there before, Athena was sure she wouldn't have recognized it now. And she knew it must have been so much worse for Thor, that he had lived there, grown up there, the only home he'd ever known, and it was so dishonored.

She glanced over at where he was loading a massive Asgardian blaster onto the Commodore, his face stony, but his body language radiating the pain and grief he was feeling. The Valkyrie approached, helping him get the last of the blaster in while Athena worked on preparing her sword for the upcoming battle, for it was sure to be a battle.

"Now the ship has guns," Thor remarked.

The Valkyrie nodded, "We'll take it from here."

Thor held out a bundle of cloth, placing it down on the edge of the ship, almost smirking at the recognition that passed over the Valkyrie's face at the white and gold color, "I found this in the armory," he told her, having grabbed it when he and Loki had picked up their guns. No one had touched it, remarkably, he doubted there were many female contenders that were humanoid in appearance. It had just been cast there, discarded, but he knew what Valkyrie armor looked like and it was time it found its way back to its owner.

The Valkyrie swallowed hard at it, before she gave him a firm nod. He returned it, moving to speak to Athena before they parted ways, when she called out, "Your majesty," waiting till he'd turned to continue, "Don't die. You know what I mean."

He only offered a smile, turning to resume his approach. Athena saw him coming and stood to meet him, reaching out to hug him tightly as soon as he was near enough. He turned his head, pressing a kiss to her temple, before he buried his face in her neck. He needed this moment, this quiet moment where it was just them. For so long Athena had been his rock, his support, his solace, much like his mother had been to his father. He just...needed her for one more moment before everything fell apart again.

"I do not wish this," he murmured to her, pulling away just enough to look into her eyes.

She gave a weak smile, knowing he was talking about separating, about facing Hela alone. They had always faced their enemies together, but this…this was different. This was _family_. He would have to face the one who took so much from him on his own, and she had been given a task to guard his people, to help them. She knew it wasn't just that though. Hela had proven herself to be powerful beyond anything Thor had faced yet, he wasn't just planning to distract the woman from his people, but from _her_ as well. So long as she was with him, he would fear for her safety, for what Hela could do to her, what pain she could cause. One wrong move and she could just as easily become leverage against Thor. This was to ease his mind and keep it focused, to know his people and his love were safe so he could put his full might against Hela.

A sound strategy and a wise decision.

 _She hated it_.

"I know," she tried to smile more, "But it is necessary."

"I would have you beside me, always," he told her.

"As would I," she agreed, before giving him a soft laugh, "I would not make a proper queen if I left my people alone in terror."

He smiled more earnestly now, "They will be in the safest hands…"

His sentient was cut off by a hiss of pain behind them, and they turned, still locked in their embrace, to see Banner had tried to hop into the Commodore's side entry and hit his shin against the edge of it, the Valkyrie trying to tend to it by offering him a bottle of booze to dull the pain.

"Yes," Athena deadpanned, "The safest," before she looked back at him, reaching up to touch his cheek, "I will keep your people safe, Thor, on one condition."

"Anything."

" _You_ keep yourself safe too," she told him.

He reached up to press her hand more firmly to his cheek, turning to press a kiss to her palm, and holding her hand after, "I swear on Zeus himself."

Athena shook her head at him for that remark, though her gaze grew softer, squeezing his hand, "Did I ever tell you of the time my father's lightning bolt, his favored weapon, was stolen?"

"No," he gave her a questioning look.

"He thought he was powerless without it, that he was vulnerable and unworthy. But that was not so. He was still the god of lightning, the king of the gods, and my father," she looked up into Thor's eyes, "Do not let the loss of your hammer make you forget the strength and power you possess Thor. With or without your hammer, you will _always_ be the god of thunder, the true king of Asgard, and the man I love with all my heart."

"Athena…" he breathed, touched.

"The hammer was a powerful object," she agreed, "But this…" she moved their joined hands to rest closer to his heart, "Is _the most_ powerful of all. So long as this beats…"

Whatever she was trying to say, whatever surely moving and empowering words were to come, were lost as Thor surged forward to capture her lips in a searing kiss…

He awkwardly threw the nearest object he could reach, whatever it was, at the Valkyrie and Banner as they began to cheer and whistle from the side. He had forgotten they were still there but he was not about to let them ruin this moment. He did not want to think it, but if this was the last time he would be able to kiss Athena, he was not going to let it slip away.

More than a minute later they parted slowly, resting their foreheads to each other, their eyes closed.

"Come back to me," Athena murmured to him quietly.

He smiled at that, "Not even Hela is powerful enough to keep me away."

And, for the first time since the death goddess had destroyed his hammer, he believed it.

~8~

Thor did his best not to allow the devastation around him to affect him as he made his way through the halls of the palace. This had been his childhood, his home, and, he had once thought, his future as well. It would be a lie to say that he hadn't imagined a time where he and Athena would be ruling Asgard together. That, the handful of times he'd been in the throne room since the mess that had been his banishment to Earth, he hadn't pictured himself sitting on the throne with Athena beside him. A time or two, while they had been on their various quests, on the cusp of sleep, when he might have thought of ways to reconstruct the throne itself so that he and Athena might sit beside each other, ruling together. He knew it was no insult to his mother that Odin had only one throne, it was just the way of Asgard. But he was a different king than his father, or he hoped the chance to prove himself different, and he wanted the throne to reflect that.

This was his chance, he knew, to prove himself different. He was not going to cover this up, he was not going to hide his faults from his people. They had all seen his failings, they had known of his banishment, had seen him walk away from the throne, and would, by now, know he had failed to keep Hela from Asgard. Athena had made him aware that it was not his successes and his victories that made him who he was, but the ways and times he failed and struggled. From those he could learn, from the mistakes of others he could become better. He shouldn't hide his failures, but embrace them.

He had failed to stop Hela's destruction, but he could stop her now and prove himself a worthy king by stopping this danger to his people.

He shook himself from his thoughts, needing to stay focused as he made his way through the halls of the palace. He listened intently for any lingering guards or prisoners that Hela might have placed, but he could hear nothing but the sound of his own footsteps through the halls. He slowed his pace as he neared the throne room, taking in the destruction there as well. He could recognize various items from Odin's most secured vault scattered around the floor beside the throne itself. Moving further into the room, he paused beside a large clump of plaster on the ground and crouched down to pick it up. He saw his own face looking back at him and immediately looked up to where he knew the fresco it had come from to be. It was no longer there, instead there was a crumbling edge on the ceiling revealing a different one that had been hidden underneath.

And there, before his eyes, was a depiction of Odin and Hela, clearly conquering the nine realms, with Hela butchering everyone that opposed her all the while holding Mjolnir in her hand.

His jaw tensed at that, before he strode into the room, right up to the throne where Gungnir was just lying haphazardly. He shook his head at Hela's carelessness and grabbed the symbol of power, making himself comfortable on the throne. He took a breath and began to bang the end of Gungnir on the floor, knowing that its power would be felt across Asgard, Hela would surely sense it.

He didn't let up, just continued to tap it on the ground until he heard a noise off to the side, where Hela had just stepped into the room, glaring at him.

He smirked as he ceased the movement, "Sister," he greeted.

Hela smiled and sauntered into the room, completely at ease as she addressed him, "You're still alive."

He didn't elaborate more on how he was, just casting a glance around the destroyed room, "I love what you've done with the place. Redecorating, I see."

Hela paused by the fallen plaster to look up at the fresco just as Thor had done, "It seems our father's solution to every problem was to cover it up."

"Or to cast it out," Thor remarked, unable to help but think about himself and Loki. One covered up, never knowing his true heritage till it was too late to stop him becoming a monster, and himself cast out of Asgard for a mistake that, he saw now, could have cost his people everything. He took a breath and looked at Hela, "He told you you were worthy. He said the same thing to me."

Hela sighed, eyeing Mjolnir in the hands of her portrait before she focused on Thor once more, "You see, you never knew him, not at his best," she smiled, recalling the good old days with a fondness that disturbed Thor to hear her next few words, "Odin and I drowned entire civilizations in blood and tears. Where do you think all this gold came from?" she gestured around, "And then, one day, he decided to become a _benevolent king_ ," Thor could only shake his head at the way she sneered the last two words, as though the utter thought of being so was disgusting to her, "To foster peace, to protect life…" she sneered at him, nearly baring her teeth at him as she growled out, "To have _you_."

Thor's jaw clenched at that, at how much he was truly learning about his father, about the person he was, for he had no reason to doubt Hela's words as true. The evidence in the frescos, the absolute regret and shame that had been in Odin's voice, what the Valkyrie had said, it was proof. He wondered, briefly, how his mother could have loved a man like Odin if he had been that apathetic to others that he'd let Hela destroy them. He wondered, for a moment, if Athena would have wanted anything to do with _him_ if he had turned out the same as Odin had, if she would have come to Asgard at all if she had known what Odin had done.

He honestly did not know the answer. He could imagine she would have come to Asgard even if she had known, because she had experienced being in that dark place and fighting to get out and be better, which Odin had done. But if HE had been like Odin, he could not say if Athena would have loved him unless he too had changed. He did not think she would have cared for him as she did if he had been so like his father, too much a reminder of what she'd become in her past.

But he had no reason to worry about that now. He was not Odin and Athena loved him as much as he did her. This revelation of Odin's past would not change anything except to serve to make him more aware of his own shortcomings and temptations, to be _better_.

"I understand why you're angry," he began, realizing that she blamed him for Odin's change of heart. Whether it was his impending birth that had made his father change, not wanting to bring a child into the world destroyed as it was, or whether it was Odin's desire for a SON to rule in his place that drove him to change, he didn't know. But either way, Hela blamed him, "And you are my sister, and technically have a claim to the throne. And believe me, I would _love_ for someone else to rule. But it can't be you. You're just...the worst."

He truly did not have any luck at all when it came to siblings to lean on for support in this matter. Loki or Hela would either tear Asgard apart or let everywhere else fall to ruin, it HAD to be him.

Hela didn't appear to like that answer as she morphed her hair into her battle headdress once more, "Ok, get up. You're in my seat."

Thor stood, "You know, Father once told me that a wise king never seeks out war."

Hela nodded, seeing where this was leading, "But must always be ready for it."

There was barely a moment's pause before they charged at each other.

~8~

Athena and the Valkyrie stood at the edge of the ship, Banner hovering it just over the Rainbow Bridge as they looked down at it.

"Fenris," the Valkyrie murmured, nodding at the giant wolf that was stalking just out side the observatory tot he Bifrost, ready to block the path Heimdall was leading the refugees down, "Hela's beast."

"And I suppose that is her army of the dead," Athena remarked, nodding at the other end of the bridge, the very end, just outside the city, where she could see Skurge leading an army of what looked like blackened skeletons in armor.

"Aye," the Valkyrie agreed. She let out a breath, "At least it is not Hela herself. I do not envy Thor."

"I'm not scared of Hela," Athena stated absently, her gaze more focused on the army, "It's hard to be scared of anything after you've seen Hera in the mornings. I'm more concerned with her minions. They are unlike any enemy they've fought before."

The Valkyrie looked at her for her words, "THEY? Then you have faced similar?"

Athena nodded, still fixated on the army as they reached the bridge, "My uncle is a God of Death. I have faced down his soldiers. Dead men with swords, no will other than to fight, no weaknesses that hinder them. Almost unstoppable."

"Almost?" Banner called, having heard them talking.

Athena nodded, "Fire. Burn them and ash cannot be reconstructed into bone," she pulled out her sword and held it up.

The Valkyrie sniffed, smelling something odd before she grabbed Athena's wrist and pulled the sword closer, "Alcohol…you've doused your sword."

"One spark, and it will be aflame."

"I take it you are calling the army?" the Valkyrie asked, "And I the wolf?"

"If it could be any other way, I would wish for the wolf."

"Why?"

"Beyond our experience?" Athena glanced at her, reminding her that the Valkyrie had experience fighting Fenris while she had experience with dead soldiers. She shook her head and returned her attention, "These soldiers are tricky. They cannot be reasoned with, they show no pattern, they cannot be easily predicted, and they do not stop fighting no matter how much you hack at them. All my methods of battle, every tactic I have, all observation and calculation will be useless against them," her voice began to take on a distant note, thinking back to those she'd stopped in the past, "Instinct, power, focus…you cannot think, you can only act, and only those powerful enough can end them…" she swallowed hard, "I had hoped to never face such an enemy again."

The Valkyrie reached out then, for just a moment, and put a hand on her shoulder, hearing a genuine fear in the woman's voice, "For Asgard though."

Athena nodded, "For Asgard."

She looked back down and took a breath, before launching herself out of the ship and towards the bridge, hearing the Valkyrie firing the blaster at the wolf, right as she dropped down, landing between the refugees and the approaching army.

She stared them down a single moment, before swiping her sword at the Rainbow Bridge, igniting her sword.

A/N: I felt like the undead soldiers were almost 'too easy' to defeat, in the movie at least. They're dead. Chopping them in half or cutting off a head or stabbing them isn't going to do much damage, they're already dead. Logically, they'd keep fighting because of the magic in them, unless someone was really able to stop them stop them. Athena, given her uncle Hades having control of the dead, I feel like she'd have that experience and knowledge and be the one to face those soldiers. And if Hela is meant to be as powerful as the movie implies, I doubt her army would be cut down that easily.

Some notes on reviews...

I loved that story about the snake :) I had heard it was an impromptu add in, and I've got a very different reaction from Loki when Thor recounts it for Kona's story ;)


	9. The Battle for Asgard

The Battle for Asgard

Hela and Thor continued to fight, crashing into each other in a clash of Hela's twin black blades and Thor with Gungnir. He had just managed to block a blow, pushing her back. They were panting, but both too locked into the battle to stop.

"To be honest," Hela glared at him, "I expected more."

With a single move, Hela managed to knock Gungnir from his hands, sending it clattering across the room. She didn't give even a moment's pause before she was striking out at Thor once more, driving him into a wall on the other side of the room.

~8~

"Heimdall!" Athena called back to the man, as he stood with his sword ready, about to run to her side and offer aid, "Guard them!" she looked back over her shoulder, giving him a firm nod that this was not something to be negotiated, but an order to be followed.

Heimdall looked at her intently for the command, but nodded, stepping back to stand before the others. There was nowhere they could go, with the army ahead and Fenris behind. But the wolf was being distracted by the ship hovering above them, it was the army they had to worry about now.

Athena looked back, striding forward towards the approaching army, wanting to give as much distance between where she'd make her stand and where the Asgardians had been huddled.

"Heimdall!" another voice rang out, that of Skurge, leading the army and pointing his sword at the man, commanding the dead for what they were after, "The sword! Get..."

Whatever he was about to command was lost as Athena grabbed the small blade from her hair, a gift from Thor, and threw it with all the accuracy she'd honed over the years, striking him right in the middle of the forehead. The traitor deserved to suffer for siding with Hela, but she had no time to apprehend him, take an enemy down and be done with it. She watched as his body fell backwards, the fallen Asgardian no more but the army continued to follow his last command, they were going to go for Heimdall.

Athena took a deep breath, seeing the army about to charge, and looked to the Rainbow Bridge. She prayed that Heimdall would forgive her, that Odin would, for what she was about to do, but there was only one way for a single person to take on an army for she would not risk the lives of the people to drag them into battle. She grabbed her sword with both hands and lifted it up, the point down, and turned, driving it into the bridge to her right. A massive crack formed along it, quite a few feet on either side from where the sword rested. She screamed, pushing forward and pressing on her sword to pry off the cracked part of the Bridge, letting it fall into the waters below. She quickly pushed herself to her feet, doing the same on the other side of the bridge, so there was but a single narrow passage that could be used to cross on.

She stepped back a few paces, till she was standing, firmly planted, on the wider edge of the passage, lifting her shield to her front, her sword in hand, ready. The approaching army would need to clamber down the narrow passage to get to her side, giving her more time to pick them off one by one. Some might try to leap across the chasms on the either side of the passage, but she had made sure to strike it with enough force that it would be wide enough where they'd need a fair bit of a running jump in order to make it, and even then, she could easily see them coming and adjust her technique to dispose of them quickly without losing her footing where she was to hold the line of defense.

She looked at her flaming sword, a solid cut, kicking them or knocking them off the sides to be dragged down into the waters by the weight of their armor…that was the only technique and plan she would have a chance to come up with. Soldiers of the dead were not normal enemies, it was pure instinct and power that would defeat them, nothing else.

She swallowed hard, feeling dread well in her, there was a reason she studied her enemy first. It was safe to study and work out a plan than to rely on brute strength and power.

She tensed, hearing the Valkyrie still firing at Fenris, hearing Heimdall trying to keep the refugees calm, but unable to do so with the threat on both sides.

She took a breath and steeled herself, swiping her sword out as the first soldier reached her.

~8~

Thor grunted as Hela pinned him against a wall, sneering into his face, "Here's the difference between us. I'm Odin's firstborn, the rightful heir, the savior of Asgard…and you're _nothing_!"

She shoved him away, conjuring a large, spiked lance and lunging at him with it, Thor just barely managing to roll out of the way as it embedded itself into the wall. He grabbed Hela's arm and yanked her towards him, slamming his head to hers in a vicious headbutt…but it did nothing.

Hela smirked and leaned her head back to return the favor, sending him stumbling back, dazed and disoriented.

He tried to get his bearings, needing to hold on, needing it to last longer. Athena and the others were counting on him to drag this out as long as possible, to give them enough time to get the others to safety...

"So simple," Hela sighed, looking at him in despair at just how little a challenge he was, "Even a blind man could see it."

She grabbed him by the front of his armor and pulled, flicking her other hand out to grow her nails longer, and clawed it down his face, taking his eye out in the process as he screamed.

She laughed at the sight of him in his one-eyed glory, " _Now_ you remind me of Dad."

~8~

It was a blur on the Rainbow Bridge, one enemy after another, slice, swipe, kick, over and over. Duck low, swing out her leg, shove, stab. The army was endless, all the honored dead of Asgard come back to try and ruin it.

Vaguely she could hear the Valkyrie still firing on Fenris, the wolf roaring more and more angrily with each round. There was a brief moment where she knew the firing had stopped, the wolf howling hadn't been coupled by gunfire and something in her niggled her mind that she should turn around and check, something could be wrong with the Valkyrie and Banner, they could be in danger. But another thought overwhelmed it, that there was no sound of a crash, no sounds of screaming, no gasping of the people, so the Valkyrie and Banner could not be in danger, there was another reason why they'd stopped firing, something that had nothing to do with her own battle with the army.

She swung out on instinct, beheading the next soldier that dared run up to her.

One sound, Banner letting out a roaring cry, did manage to catch her attention in the heat of battle, and she used her momentum from her following attack to quickly spin, glancing up only a moment, to see Banner had leapt from the Commodore for the Bridge. She finished her attack, her back now to the refugees once more and her attention back on the army. Idly she noted she hadn't heard the Hulk's roar come out, but that sound of a thump, someone landing on the Bridge.

She could feel her mind starting to drift to the calculation of descent, of what impact that would have on a human body, before she viciously pulled her thoughts away. As much as she might fear for Banner, the army needed her complete focus. Lose sight of her goal, take her eye off the enemy, and she was finished. She could not be beaten, she could not risk being beaten, too much was at stake.

There was a roar in the air, the Hulk, followed by a pained wolf whine, and she let out a soft breath, allowing herself only a moment of relief to know the Hulk was handling Fenris…

She didn't even notice the sound of water splashing as the Hulk tackled the wolf into the water surrounding the bridge.

~8~

Thor clawed at the hands around his throat as Hela lifted him up by the neck and dragged him over to the balcony of the throne room. She forced him up and turned him to look down at Asgard burning around them. He could see, even from there, without Heimdall's eyes, the Rainbow Bridge. He could see his people struggling, but what's more…he could see Athena, taking on the army of the dead by herself. He barely refrained from smirking at the sight, his warrior queen was truly that, in this moment she was every bit the powerful force Asgard needed in a queen.

But now, he could also see his people had a chance to escape, he could finish Hela now that he'd distracted her enough.

He could feel her lean in closer, whispering in his ear, "You see?" she chuckled, "How long do you think your beloved Athena can hold them back? They do not tire, but she will. And then…the army will take them all. No one's going anywhere. I'll get that sword even if I have to kill every single one of them to do it."

Thor couldn't help the way his lip, on the opposite side of his face than where Hela was, quirked up even at her words.

He could almost hear Athena in his mind, the warning she had so often given him, never to underestimate their opponent.

It appear Hela was doing just that…

~8~

Athena violently slashed at the throat of the next soldier that came at her, kicking it down and causing the next soldier to stumble and fall to its knees. She didn't hesitate to stab her sword down its throat, setting it on fire from within and shoving it to the side.

There was a whoosh behind her a moment before gunfire rang out above Athena's head. She didn't flinch as the ship hovering over her but slightly behind tried to take out the soldiers farther down the pathway she'd made. There was a minor flash of irritation that went through her as she was joined in this battle. The bullets would not make a difference, she had said _fire_ , hadn't she? She had told them fire was the only way to defeat this enemy. Yet they were firing bullets.

"Fire!" she shouted, though it sounded more like a grunt. It felt like her voice was hoarse, she had not spoken a word since she'd given the order to Heimdall, "NO!" she yelled louder when the firing resumed, " _FIRE_!"

A moment later the ship above her shot out of the sky, but heading right for the other side of the pathway, crashing into a swarm of the soldiers, exploding in the middle of them when the blaster fell out on top of some, and skidded along the bridge, fireworks going off.

There was a voice behind her, a flash of white and gold, a long, thin sword coming into view in her periphery. Distantly she noted it was the Valkyrie, having ejected herself from the ship before she sent it crashing. She registered the woman speaking to her, but the oncoming soldiers required all her focus.

"Guard them!" was all she could get out before she launched herself at the army.

She didn't notice if the Valkyrie had listened to her, she had stepped closer to the narrowed pathway, there was no room for anyone to stand beside her. She fought with a single minded focus from that point on, she had to protect them, she had to keep the army back. No one else there had experience fighting these creatures and truly winning. The Valkyrie herself had admitted she and the others had fought Hela directly. She had to do this, she had to stop them, and she knew she could.

She knew she had that power…

~8~

"It is good to see you again," Heimdall spoke quietly to the Valkyrie as the woman backed away from Athena. He could not make for the Bifrost, not now that Hela knew where they were. It had been one plan to reach there with the people while Hela was invading their stronghold, but if he opened the Bifrost now? If Athena fell the army would follow, Hela could follow. He couldn't risk opening the path to get his people to safety in such a state, but there was nowhere else to go.

"You as well," the Valkyrie murmured, her sword ready, her eyes on the undead army, tense and deeply concerned as she watched Athena fight, "How long do you think she can keep that up?"

She knew what she and the other Valkyrie had gone through, their training, she knew her stamina and endurance. It could be because she was still half drunk and had not battled this hard in a very long time, but if she had been in Athena's place she would not have lasted this long. Watching this woman…she could understand how Athena was a goddess of Battle while the Valkyrie were elite warriors.

She flinched down when a booming noise sounded behind them and turned to see what looked like another one of the Grandmaster's ships, one of his personal collection, a much, much larger model, settle down on the Rainbow Bridge, blocking the way to the observatory, but with planks lowering. She nearly began to race towards it, ready to put herself between the Asgardians and the Grandmaster…when she saw who had stepped out onto the plank's top.

Korg, with Miek close behind.

"Hey there," the rockman greeted, "I'm Korg. This is Miek. We're going to jump on that spaceship and get out of here. Want to come?"

The Asgardians stared at him, confused and more than a little suspicious.

Until a hand settled on Korg's shoulder and the man stepped to the side, revealing Loki approaching, dressed for battle with his arms spread wide.

"Your savior is here!" Loki called with a wide grin. He walked down the plank, a line of other Sakaarian gladiators appearing in the doorway, all armed with weapons.

~8~

Thor's small smirk grew into a full blown grin as he saw the ship land on the Rainbow Bridge. Even from there he could make out Loki and other prisoners from Sakaar. Despite his best efforts, he could feel a small kernel of hope grow in his heart at the sight. Loki could have gone anywhere in the realms, disappeared through any of the wormholes, but he had followed the one that he knew would take him back to Asgard. A part of his mind argued that Loki could have just come in the hopes that he would find Thor dead, Hela weakened, and be the savior of Asgard, but with how powerful Hela clearly was, Loki would never have risked his life to face her again unless…

Unless he truly cared, about him, about the people…

"That little shit…" Hela hissed beside him.

~8~

Loki and the Sakaarian gladiators jumped off the ship and onto the Bridge, quickly moving to the sides to make room for the Asgardians to climb aboard. A handful hurried past them, walking along the edges of the bridge to get closer to Athena, forming a wall across the bridge between her and the refugees, ready to fight, to step in, to protect.

"Did you miss me?" Loki called to the Asgardians, "Everybody on that ship, now!"

He grinned widely as he watched them clamber up and onto the ship, the group stilling at the base of the ship as there was only a narrow plank that lead up to it. They had to board only a small handful at a time. He looked over, taking in the scene of the Bridge. Heimdall was at the back of the refugee group, the Valkyrie beside him, their swords ready, with a row of the Sakaarians before them, creating lines of defense should the army of the dead break through.

But it didn't appear they would. Athena was standing at a narrow area of the Bridge, fighting with a drive and finesse he had never seen before and he had watched her fight against Thor and other Asgardian soldiers many a time.

"Be calm," he called to the Asgardians as he began to make his way through them, "You are safe for now. Be calm and orderly and all shall be well."

He walked closer to the lines of defense, his gaze trained on Athena's back even as he came up to Heimdall's other side.

"Welcome home," the guardian remarked, "I saw you coming."

"Of course you did," Loki answered, "Did you see HER?" he nodded more towards Athena than meaning anything about Hela.

Heimdall only grew solemn and serious as they watched Athena.

The Valkyrie wanted to step in, to join the fight, but she could see the mindset Athena was in, the heat of battle, the focus, approaching now…it could spell disaster to startle her out of her focus. She would hold back, ready, and step in only when Athena could go no more.

~8~

Hela spun Thor back around to face her, not entirely concerned with the goings-on of the Bridge, Athena would wear out soon enough and when she fell, the others wouldn't stand a chance. She smirked at the thought, debating, for a moment, whether she wanted to draw this out longer so that Thor could witness the woman's fall, just for that added delicious pain that it would cause him to see the woman he loved destroyed before his eyes, or if she should end it now and just be done with him.

Perhaps she could kill two birds with one stone, end Thor now and use that to break the girl on the Bridge, let the army swarm to the fleeing Asgardians, all contained in one place and waiting for her to destroy them.

She smirked, yes, that would work perfectly.

"A valiant effort," she spoke to Thor, "But you never stood a chance."

Thor's gaze drifted away from her, a sparkle in the sky catching his attention. He looked up at the stars that had come out over Asgard, shining brightly despite the horror going on below them. There was a glimmer among the shining specks, a yellow waft of stardust in the sky, two of them entwining before they drifted away, reminding him of his mother and father, the last memory he had of them. What would they think if they could look down and see him there?

He liked to think they would be proud, of all he had done for Asgard, of what he was doing now, using himself to give his people a fighting chance. He liked to think that they would be proud of Athena as well, for her bravery and drive in facing down that army. And, perhaps, they would even be proud of Loki for returning to help their people.

"You see?" Hela was speaking, pulling his attention back, "I'm not a queen, or a monster…"

Thor felt something inside him jerk, his vision clouding to an image of the cliff in Norway…

"I'm the Goddess of Death."

…to Odin and Frigga standing there, smiling at him…

"What were you the God of again?"

He screamed out a moment later when Hela dug her two blades into his chest…

~8~

Thor gasped as he awoke, having blacked out from the pain of Hela's blades, only to find himself back on the field in Norway.

"Even when you had two eyes you were only seeing half the picture," a voice said behind him.

Thor scrambled to his feet and turned to see Odin and Frigga sitting where they last had, on two rocks, Frigga's arm through Odin's as they smiled at him. He sank back to his knees before his parents.

"She's too strong," he began to speak, "Without my hammer I cannot…"

He had thought he could, he truly thought he could face Hela down and beat her. He hadn't fought back as much as he could have, it was true, he wanted to give his people a chance to escape, to distract her, but…he was also trying to gauge her strength, her skill. It was something Athena often did, she was much better at it than he was, she could work out things like that from a distance or while also defending herself. It had been enough though, he had gotten enough information.

And he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat her without his hammer.

Odin gave a soft chuckle at that, "Are you Thor, God of Hammers?" Thor looked up at that, "That hammer helped you control your power, focus it. But it was never the source of your strength."

Thor was silent for a moment, "Athena said much the same…"

"Athena is wise," Frigga remarked with a gentle smile and a teasing look in her eye, making Thor crack the smallest of grins in return.

Odin stood, holding a hand down to Frigga to help her rise as well, Thor moving to his feet too.

"Even if I can defeat her," Thor began, "She's already taken Asgard."

"Oh my son," Frigga reached out to touch his cheek, "Asgard is not _a_ _place_. It is _a people_."

Odin gestured at the cliff around them, "This could be Asgard. It is wherever our people stand. And right now those people need you. Your Queen needs you," Odin grew somber at the words he spoke, "Do not make the same mistake I did, Thor, do not risk your love's life over an enemy you fear and hate."

Frigga pulled her hand back from Thor to rest it on Odin's arm, letting him know with a look that she did not blame him for her near death at the hands of the Dark Elves.

"I fear I am not as strong as you," Thor called when Odin and Frigga began to walk away from him.

Odin smiled, "You are stronger."

Frigga nodded, "Do not let the loss of your hammer make you forget the strength and power you possess."

Thor took a deep breath at the familiar words Athena had spoken to him when last they parted. He felt himself smile at that, if Frigga believed it…well, as he had told Loki, he had learned not to ignore the words of Athena nor his mother. He looked down at his hands, seeing the smallest sparks of electricity dance across his fingers before he made a fist, ready…

~8~

Thor's vision cleared as he came back to himself, back on the balcony of the throne room, Hela with her blades in his chest, the pain radiating through his entire body. He closed his eyes, keeping the words his parents and Athena had spoken to him, the belief they had in him, in his mind. He thought back to every foe he'd faced, to every challenge he had overcome, to every person on that Bridge counting on him and he felt it, he finally felt it…the power coursing through him.

Above him the sky darkened, black storm clouds rolling in.

"Tell me brother," Hela repeated, "What were you the God of again?"

Thor clenched his fist, feeling the electricity jumping along his knuckles, he felt it gathering above him, the storm calling to him…and he pulled!

A boom of thunder, the loudest he had ever heard, rang out, and a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky right for them.

Thor felt exhilarated as the lightning seemed to flow through him, energizing him, while, at the same time, sending Hela flying out, blasted out of the palace and sent plummeting into the streets of Asgard, crashing into the ground and staying down.

~8~

It was pure instinct that had Athena lifting her shield when a massive BOOM resonated in front of her, the shockwave of electricity and power that came with Thor landing on the opposite side of the Rainbow Bridge from the narrow pathway she'd created. A small voice in her head told her she should be impressed with Thor's display of raw power, that it was incredible and that she was proud of him, but it felt like the world around her had just narrowed down to the passageway she stood on, to the soldiers running at her.

There were flashes of lightning and gusts of wind that she could glimpse and feel as she continued to battle on. She couldn't stop now, she hadn't beaten her enemies. She couldn't stop till she'd defeated them all…

Thor spun around, punching one of the dead soldiers behind him, sending it flying back through the rest of its cohorts, before he punched down, sending a burst of energy out to throw the approaching soldiers away. He stood, using the moment to take stock of the situation. He needed to know what was happening, how it was going. He could see one of the Grandmaster's ships, one that had been in the same bay as the Commodore, on the Bridge, Heimdall now ushering the Asgardians onto it. They were making good progress, were nearly all there. A splash in the water drew his attention and he noticed Hulk fighting with Fenris, keeping the beast occupied. He could see the Valkyrie and Loki at the ready, their weapons in hand, their focus ahead of them. And then there was a row of Sakaarian gladiators, also ready to fight…but none of them seemed needed.

Because Athena was hacking her way through the soldiers that ran at her with an unstoppable force. For one brief second, he allowed himself to be awed by her prowess, watching as she used skills and methods and tricks he had never seen her use before. But he shook himself out of it quickly, noting the concerned look on the Valkyrie's face, how even Loki looked ill at ease, and felt himself tense. He knew how long it had been since he had sent her off with the Valkyrie and Banner, if she had been fighting since then, and fighting alone…she wouldn't be able to handle much more of this.

He nodded to himself and began to fight his way through the soldiers lingering on the pathway, needing to reach her. If he could make it to the other side, he could give her a respite, a moment to regroup. She had done her part, his people were safe, she needed to rest. If she could take on the army by herself, he was sure he, Valkyrie, Loki, and the Sakaarian gladiators could handle the rest. He paused just before the pathway, looking down to see not an undead soldier but Skurge with Athena's blade in his forehead, the blade he had gifted her. He shook his head at the man, the traitor, and crouched down to pull the blade from him, wiping it off on his cloak as he moved down the path.

He stopped once more on the middle of the pathway, a small smirk growing on his face at how clever a move that had been, and looked back at the army, or what was left of it. They had managed to thin out the army by a large amount. He turned back to make his way to Athena, reaching her right as the tip of her flaming sword went through the chest of the soldier in front of him. She moved like she was flinging her arm to the side and the soldier fell off of it into the water.

She raised her sword as though she were about to strike at him, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, seeming to startle her with the small sparks of electricity that had jumped from him to her. She looked at his hand holding her wrist, confused for a moment at the warmth she felt, because the dead were not warm, and then she looked at him, blinking rapidly.

"…Thor?" she began to breathe quickly, trembling in his hand, "…your eye…"

He let his grip on her arm loosen, sliding it down to her hand, squeezing it, "What about you?" he looked down at her, noting a wound here and there, a cut to her face, a bruise on her cheek and shin, the way she was panting but leaning to the side as though her one side hurt more.

Athena frowned, not seeming to understand what he was talking about.

He looked back, hearing snarls, to see the army of the dead regrouping. He moved his hand to the small of her back and ushered her back a little, frowning at the limp she had, "You need to go to the ship," he murmured.

"I can fight," Athena argued.

"You've done your part, more than, it's time to rest…"

"I won't rest until our people are safe," she told him firmly, not backing down, "I will not stand behind you, Thor, I stand beside you."

He couldn't help the quirk of his lips at that, tired as she was, Athena would not turn her back on an enemy. He held out the small blade he'd recovered, a silent acceptance to her demands, letting her take it from him when he noticed the others watching them closely, and nodded to Loki, "You're late."

"You're missing an eye," Loki retorted.

The Valkyrie let out a shrill whistle to get their attention, "This isn't over," she gave a pointed nod towards Asgard and they turned to see Hela approaching, absolutely seething.

Athena, though panting, stepped up beside Thor, her sword and shield ready as the Valkyrie and Loki moved on either side of them as well, the Sakaarian gladiators falling back towards the Grandmaster's ship where the last of the Asgardians were making their way on, seeming to understand the four would be the main line of defense now and they were to fall back as the second.

"Hit her with a lightning blast," Loki spoke quietly as they all braced for battle.

"I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning," Thor reminded him, "It did nothing."

Athena glanced over her shoulder, "They're almost aboard, we need to hold her off till then."

"It won't end there," Thor murmured, growing serious, "The longer Hela's on Asgard the more powerful she grows. She'll hunt us down. We need to stop her here and now."

The Valkyrie nodded, ready for any plan that would mean the permanent end of Hela, "What's our move?"

"I'm not doing 'Get help,'" Loki warned.

Thor could only watch, helpless, as Hela approached, the last of her army gathering behind her, when his gaze was drawn to the ruins of his home, to what was left of the Palace and Asgard…and stiffened, a terrible realization dawning on him.

"Asgard's not a place, it's a people," Thor murmured, "This was never about _stopping_ Ragnarok...it was about _causing_ Ragnarok," he turned to Loki, knowing he was the fastest and sneakiest among them, "Go to the vault. Surtur's crown. It's the only way."

Loki shook his head slowly, impressed, "Bold move, brother. Even for me," before he took off.

Thor, Athena, and the Valkyrie looked at each other, each of them knowing they needed to hold the woman off just a little longer.

"Shall we?" Thor asked, unable to help the concern that flashed through him at the state Athena was in, but the warrior gave a firm nod regardless.

The Valkyrie merely gestured forward with her blade, "After you."

And, with that, Thor led the attack against Hela, what would come to be the last battle for Asgard.

A/N: OMG, just ONE more chapter left! O.O I'm so sad it's going to be over so soon :'( But I think I've worked out my game plan for the next few stories and in what order I'll post them, so I'll be talking about that more in the next chapter ;)

Poor Thor, being a distraction to Hela and getting so hurt :( I honestly wasn't sure if that was his intention in the movie, to just drag out the fight with Hela to give his people time to escape, or if Hela really was that powerful that she beat up on him that much. He's a good warrior, even without his hammer, he's still trained to fight, so I felt like he wouldn't have been THAT beaten unless it might have been to try and distract Hela :(

For Athena, while I thought the battle on the Bridge was epic in the movie, I could not get her to let it happen in the story. She really took to her almost-queen status seriously and refused to let other people get hurt or have to face the army unless it was a very last resort move. She's also clever and strategic. By destroying part of the bridge, she made it difficult for the army to attack unless they went the path she set for them, and by going on that path, she controlled how many she would be facing. Narrow down the pathway, narrow down the amount of soldiers you face at any one time. She can pick them off easier one by one, even if it means having to fight longer, but it would also mean keeping the people separated from the threat longer too :) She is a goddess of WISDOM _and Battle_ after all ;)

No real notes on reviews for the last chapter ;)


	10. The End of an Era

The End of an Era

It was an allout brawl the moment the trio launched into their attack against Hela. The woman seemed eager for the fight, not at all concerned with the three of them trying to take her on alone. She seemed almost menacing in the way she looked at them, lifting her arms to manifest black weapons all around her to attack them with. Athena knew almost instantly this was not going to be a fast fight to the death, Hela was not going to be attacking them just to finish them off and continue with her conquest of the Nine Realms. This was going to be a fight to hurt, to make them suffer and to prove her power. Hela was going to want them battered and beaten long before she actually tried to kill them.

And, in a sad way, it would be an advantage to them. Because they were NOT going to be fighting to hurt her but to stop her, in any way necessary.

Athena lifted her shield, blocking the weapons Hela launched, the Valkyrie managed to knock the attacks away with her sword. Thor reacted instantly, using his newfound power and strength to launch bolts of lightning back at Hela, matching her attack for attack in speed and ferocity. It wasn't watching from a balcony any longer, it was being on the bridge, it was facing her, it was putting himself into the line of fire and the last line of defense between Hela and the ship behind him. This was their last chance, to give the ship time to get away, for the Asgardians to get onto the ship in general.

"Guard the ship!" Thor called back to the Valkyrie and Athena, "Hela is mine!"

Athena grit her teeth as she and the Valkyrie took a defensive stance. Hela's power seemed to have surged, a darkness spreading from her feet down the Rainbow Bridge, covering the spaces Athena had broken off with a black energy, allowing what remained of her undead army to race across it. She glanced over at the Valkyrie, the woman giving her a firm nod at her look. They both turned back to the fray, lifting their swords and swinging at the soldiers that swarmed them.

It was both easier and harder for Athena to face the soldiers a second time around. On the one hand, she had another soldier beside her, it wasn't just her fighting, they could take out twice as many of the undead than she had before. She could see an end in sight as well, the army had been thinned out between her fighting and Thor's arrival. But it was harder, she had to be more aware of the Valkyrie fighting beside her, they were spaced out more and there was a greater risk that one of the undead soldiers could get past them to the ship. And it was harder for her to get back into the mindset she had been when she'd fought the soldiers before.

While she had been facing them the first round, it had taken some time to be able to let herself go enough into her instincts, to fight and use just her raw power and strength to face them. But once she had, she had been 'in the zone' as she'd heard a few humans call it. It was like her world had narrowed to the soldiers ahead of her, blurring out around the edges so she could focus more, the sounds around her dimming so she wouldn't be as distracted. Her heart had been pounding, her body reacting, adrenaline rushing through her. She hadn't realized how much it was taking out of her, she hadn't even noticed that she was injured, hadn't been aware of the warriors who gathered behind her ready to help. All she'd known was the enemy coming at her and the fact that she needed to stop them, that she had the power to do it.

But when Thor had taken hold of her wrist, had stopped her, it was a jarring experience. It was like a bucket of cold water had been doused on her and the world came back into focus. Now, not only was she more aware of the strain she was feeling in her muscles, the exhaustion she could feel creeping into her, but there was also a reluctance. It didn't make her feel good to slip into that mindset, she didn't like being in a place where she wasn't thinking but just reacting, where she was feeling more than being in control of herself. Because she hadn't noticed how far she'd gone until Thor pulled her out, she didn't want that to happen again.

It was hard to stand there and fight, knowing she'd fight better on pure instinct, but resisting it.

She let out a vicious cry and sliced the head of an approaching soldier off its body, using her shield to knock it off the Rainbow Bridge. She spun around, hearing a cry of pain to see Hela had stabbed Thor in the shoulder with a sword of her own, before kicking him away.

"No," the Valkyrie shouted, at Athena and not the injury going on before her. She shook her head as Athena shot her a glare, "Leave this to me, _please_ ," she almost begged, "This is my fight too."

Athena looked between the warrior and Hela when Thor rushed at his sister again. She felt like she was being torn in half, SHE wanted to be the one to help Thor, to rush to his side, to fight next to him. He wanted to face Hela, because she was his sister and he felt like it was his responsibility to deal with her. She understood that, as much as she didn't agree with facing the woman down alone. But the Valkyrie, from what she'd said of her last battle with the woman, the loss she'd suffered at the monster's hand, she deserved to face Hela as well. This was more Thor and the Valkyrie's battle than hers, they were both personally connected to this.

Logically, she knew that Thor would need a warrior who wasn't feeling the brunt of the battle the way she was. She hadn't let any soldier past her, had taken on as many as she could before he'd joined them. The Valkyrie had been resting, ready to brawl, but not facing such trouble. The woman would be more energized and able to fight, being less injured. If there was one thing she would never ever wish, it would be for Thor to be injured or in danger because of her.

"Go," she nodded to the Valkyrie, taking a few steps back to brace herself in the middle of the Bridge, ready to fight the last of the soldiers.

The Valkyrie gave her another nod and launched herself into the fray with Thor. The two Asgardians teamed up quickly enough, forcing Hela to take the two of them on at the same time. They seemed to divide their attacks, Thor's being the more offensive, striking at Hela, fighting her in earnest, while the Valkyrie worked on defending him, guarding him from her various attempts to injure him. She was successful enough that Hela was unable to land any fatal blows against the to-be-king of Asgard, but that hadn't stopped the woman from being able to cut into him and slash at his skin and armor. The goddess seemed to also be pushing at them, driving them back more and more towards the ship.

Athena hissed as a swipe caught her in the side, having jumped back to avoid it but not fast enough. She dropped down and swung out her leg to take the soldier down, stabbing it in the chest with her flaming sword. She could see only a handful of soldiers left, and chanced a look behind her at the ship. It seemed like the last of the Asgardians were making it onboard. Heimdall, Korg, and Miek were at the base of the plank, ushering the remaining refugees up.

She looked at Thor and the Valkyrie fighting, and back, making a decision she hoped Thor would approve of, "GO!" she shouted at them, "Go now!"

Heimdall stared her down for a long moment, before he nodded and hurried into the ship after his people, knowing this was the entire reason behind Thor's battle, to protect his people and save them. If they lingered, if Hela caught them, it would all be for nothing.

Athena spun back around, hearing a soldier hissing as it lunged for her and resumed her battle. She could hear the sounds of the ship's engines powering up behind her and did her best to ignore the other wounds of the fighting around her. She couldn't risk distraction until every last soldier was finished.

The ground beneath her rumbled suddenly, nearly sending her stumbling to her knees but she caught herself, using the move to cut the legs off of a passing soldier. She looked over her shoulder to see that a large spike had shot up from the ground, through the Rainbow Bridge itself, and had impaled into the ship, locking it to Asgard and preventing it from leaving. From how black in color the rock was, she could only guess that Hela had been the cause of it, her dark magic at work. She looked back at the soldiers and stood, pulling her shield off her arm.

She sent a prayer to Apollo and Artemis that her aim would be as true as theirs and, in a move she was sure Captain America would have appreciated, flung her shield out like a discus, knocking the last row of dead soldiers back and off their feet. She barely waited long enough for her shield to return to her arm before she was turning and running at the ship as it struggled to rise. She ran up it, pulling her sword above her head and leapt up at the very end, bringing her sword down in a powerful stab that cracked the spike away, breaking the piece off as the ship was freed.

She turned, stabbing her sword into the side of the spike as she fell back towards the Rainbow Bridge, using it to slow her descent. She hit the Rainbow Bridge with a grunt, quickly rolling onto her knees and pushing herself to her feet. There were only a few of the soldiers left, if she could just take them out, she would be able to help Thor and the Valkyrie with Hela.

She could hear Hela letting out a snarling screech and looked over to see the goddess slam the Valkyrie away from her, seeming absolutely furious with the ship now escaping. She could see the goddess gathering her power once more, but Thor had gotten to his feet, gathering his own might. Athena tightened her grip on her sword, just a few more soldiers left…

"Hela!" Thor shouted, "Enough!" he was panting as he faced down his sister, waiting till she turned to face him before speaking again. He threw down the last weapon she'd thrown at him, a spear of sorts. Now that his people were safe, he just needed to distract her a little longer, till they were out of range of her magic, "You want Asgard? It's yours."

His gaze flickered behind her to see Athena kick the last of the soldiers off the side of the Bridge, panting as she made her way over to the Valkyrie's side, helping her up. He quickly returned his attention back to Hela.

"Whatever game you're playing," the woman sneered, "It won't work. You can't defeat me."

Thor nodded, a smirk growing on his face, "No," he agreed, jerking a thumb behind him and towards the palace, "But HE can."

A moment later there was a loud boom, the palace exploding with flames as Surtur grew within them. Athena could already see this reborn enemy was already more powerful than ever before. He had grown far larger than she'd seen him last, with a massive flaming sword that grew as he did. The ground began to shake, so powerfully that fissures began to break in the ground around him. Buildings began to fall, the Rainbow Bridge, the edge connected to the land began to crack.

"No…NO!" Hela screamed, her attention on Surtur instead of the fleeing ship. The palace was collapsing around him, fires rising with each blow he dealt with his sword to the city.

The Valkyrie ran at the distracted woman, leaping into the air at her and diving down, slamming into her and stabbing her with her sword, pinning her to the Rainbow Bridge and rolling away. Thor summoned his strength and brought down bolts of lightning onto the bridge, breaking off the section she was on and sending it falling into the waters, which were in turmoil from the destruction. It was boiling and swishing so much that it was almost like the bedrock was opening into a pit for her to fall into.

Athena stepped back quickly, avoiding the fractured bridge, before stepping forward to watch the woman fall. She looked up at Thor and the Valkyrie across the way and moved back, running towards them and jumping over the crack to their side. She made her way right to Thor, standing beside him as the two Asgardians were left to stand there, staring at Surtur raining down his destruction on their home.

"Tremble before me Asgard!" the creature was growling, swinging his sword to destroy everything in his path, "For I am your reckoning!"

"The people are safe," Athena spoke quietly to them, reaching out to take Thor's hand in comfort.

The Valkyrie nodded, though her gaze didn't stray from the home she'd left so long ago, only to return to witness its destruction, "That's all that matters."

Thor swallowed hard, squeezing Athena's hand, needing her strength, "We're fulfilling the prophecy," he said, as though trying to convince himself this couldn't be helped or stopped, that it was the right thing to do.

"I hate this prophecy."

"So do I, but we have no choice. Surtur destroys Asgard, he destroys Hela so that our people can live. We need to let him finish..."

Athena had just opened her mouth to speak her agreement, when something shot into the sky above them from behind. They all looked on in shock as the Hulk launched himself at Surtur.

"No!" Thor shouted.

"Hulk, stop!" Athena cried.

But it was too late, the green man was already nearing Surtur, both his fists raised and ready to smash into the creature's face. He pounded away, using the force of his blows to go higher and higher, till he'd landed on top of Surtur's one horn and began to jab at it, trying to break it off.

"Stop it you moron!" Thor ordered.

Hulk's blows weren't doing much damage, but they were distracting the creature from his objective to finish Asgard. It reached up and grabbed Hulk off its horn, flinging him away to land hard on the Rainbow Bridge before them. The green man wasn't down long before he was rolling onto his feet and ready to throw himself back at Surtur.

"HULK!" Athena called, managing to get his attention.

"Just for once in your life, _don't smash_!" Thor agreed.

Hulk frowned at them, "But...big monster!"

The Valkyrie shook her head, "Hulk! Let's go!"

Hulk looked between them and Surtur, before pouting and rushing at them. He grabbed the three warriors in his arms and leapt up into the air with all his might, aiming for the fleeing ship that was a safe distance away from Surtur's rage and Hela's magic. He landed on the edge of the ship with more gentleness than they'd thought him capable of, setting them down carefully. The trio, now that they'd had just a moment to rest, nearly collapsed, exhausted, where they were placed.

But they could still see what was going on, the total carnage and damage being done to Asgard at Surtur's hands. Thor and the Valkyrie were forced to watch their home torn apart, Thor leaning on Athena both for strength to watch and a need for support, a handful of other Asgardians and Sakaarian gladiators gathered with them.

A moment later, a massive black spike shot out from the waters by the Rainbow Bridge, flying into Surtur's chest. Many more spikes arose from the depths, Hela standing on one. The goddess hurled spike after spike at Surtur, but it was no use, the creature just lifted his sword, holding it above his head for the final blow.

"I am Asgard's doom!" the beast roared, driving the sword into the land, through Hela, stabbing right into the heart of Asgard itself.

"The damage is not too bad," Korg spoke from the middle of the Asgardians, trying to make things better, to ease the obvious pain they were feeling to witness their home being turned into ruins, "As long as the foundations are strong, we can rebuild this place. It will become a haven for all people and aliens of the universe..."

He couldn't even finish when a violent explosion detonated, the earth shaking around it. It was almost like the realm was split in two before it was blown to pieces.

And just like that...Asgard was gone.

Their home was gone.

"Nope," Korg winced, "Those foundations are gone. Sorry."

Athena could only tighten her hold on Thor's hand as he breathed out, "What have I done?"

"What you must," Athena murmured beside him, "What is right is not always easy. You have saved the Realms from Hela's destruction…"

"And you saved _us_ from extinction," Heimdall added, stepping up to place a hand on Thor's shoulder, letting him know with just that gesture that none of his people held him to blame for what happened, "Asgard is not a place, it's a people."

Thor just turned away, unable to watch his home continue to burn, and rested his forehead to Athena's temple. She lifted her other hand to half stroke his hair, half touch his cheek in a comforting gesture, taking strength and a moment to grieve.

"I am proud of you," she whispered to him, so soft he knew no other would hear it, "And I know...Odin and Frigga would be too."

He just held onto her tighter.

~8~

Thor stood in the captain's quarters of the ship, looking into a mirror fixed to the wall. He smiled softly as he saw Athena in the reflection, behind him, resting on top of a bed, his cloak draped over her like a blanket. She had been exhausted. While he and the Valkyrie had sustained some fearsome injuries that the healers of Asgard had been able to patch up with the limited resources they had kept with them, Athena's trial had taken for more out of her energy-wise. She needed rest. He'd made sure to carry her to the room himself, get her situated, and then called the healers in to tend to him. Being away from Asgard as long as they had been, they had learned to only keep the truly important items on their person in their travels. They had had nothing in the palace worth saving or mourning...not like his people, who had had to leave so suddenly and were now heading somewhere, he didn't know where, they had never been before.

He closed his eyes… _eye_ …a moment at that somber thought and looked at himself in the mirror once more, taking in the obvious change. His wounds had been dressed and bandaged, were well on their way to healing, though he now had a patch over his eye. He looked as clean as could be managed, his armor cleaned, but it all felt out of place. It was his armor, his face, but…not _him_. He couldn't help his gaze drifting back to his eye, the very same one Odin had lost.

"It suits you," a voice said.

Thor turned to the side to see Loki standing in the doorway of the room. A small smile made its way onto his face at the image of his brother, to know he had survived the destruction too. He had hoped, when Loki managed to steal away in the Commodore to reach the vault while Hela was distracted, that Loki would be able to flee Asgard with the ship as well. He had hoped Loki might rejoin them, but hadn't truly believed he would see his brother again, "Perhaps you're not so bad after all, brother."

"Maybe not."

Thor nodded, "Thank you, Loki," he picked up a small dish resting on a counter top, "And if you were here, I might even give you a hug."

Thor tossed the dish at Loki, fully expecting it to go through the magical illusion of his brother…only for Loki to _catch it_.

He was _really_ there.

Loki smirked, "Do we _have_ to hug now?"

Thor's smile grew as he let out a soft chuckle, when another soft sound rose behind him. He looked over to see Athena slowly waking and glanced at Loki. The man nodded and left the room as Thor made his way to kneel beside the bed, reaching out to gently touch Athena's hair. He smiled again when her eyes fluttered and locked on his.

"Thor," she breathed, reaching out to touch his cheek with her left hand her thumb tracing below his eye, "Hela…"

He turned his head to press a kiss to her palm, before letting her rest the hand to his cheek again, "Is defeated," he answered, not sure how much she remembered near the end of their fight, she'd been so exhausted, "The people are safe."

Her face scrunched, hoping what she recalled was but a nightmare, "Asgard?"

His smile faltered, "Gone."

"I'm so sorry," she murmured.

He swallowed hard, "My people are safe. Asgard is a people, not a place. So long as we breathe, Asgard lives on."

"Wise words."

"I am just glad I have not lost more," he looked at her intently for his words, and she knew exactly what he meant.

His parents, his hammer, his home, he'd lost everything, if he'd lost her too? She did not want to think of what she would do if she'd lost the same and then him.

"Loss often is the greatest teacher," she remarked softly, stroking his cheek, "To understand your strength, you had to lose your hammer. To appreciate your people, you had to lose your home. To take on the responsibility of the throne, you lost your parents. Just as how, many years ago, you had to lose everything to truly realize the man you were at heart," she looked at him, "I am just sorry you suffered so much,"

He leaned his head slightly to feel her hand pressed more firmly to his face, "My eye too," he remarked, with just a hint of a joke in his voice, trying to make light of it.

"It is no different than Odin," she countered, "Though you are far more handsome even with such a covering."

"Am I?" he smirked at that.

"And Odin was a remarkable man and great king," she continued, "I have no doubt you will be even more."

His smirk softened into a smile, "Will I?"

She nodded, "I have no doubts," she repeated.

He took a deep breath, feeling something like relief and assurance well in him. He had come a long way from the vain boy he had been, but a streak of it still remained and a part of him had feared Athena would not find him appealing any longer. It was a foolish thought, Athena had been around Odin, was a warrior herself, she understood the scars gotten in battle. He also felt an assurance as well, that she still believed in him after all this, that she still thought he was a worthy king.

"With you by my side," he murmured, "I have no doubts either."

Athena just smiled, lightly patting his cheek, looking down just a moment at her hand as she pulled it away from his face when he moved to stand. Her smile faltered but within the blink of an eye she had the smile back, reaching out to take Thor's hand as he helped her up.

~8~

Thor and Athena came to a stop just inside the main deck of the ship to see an assembly of Asgardians and a few Sakaarian gladiators gathered. Athena smiled, unable to help but think about how similar this was to Thor's coronation, before Loki had let the Frost Giants into the realm. She could see the look in the eyes of the Asgardians, all of them looking to the man who would be their king, only this time he truly was their king now.

Thor looked at all of them, allowing himself the brief moment to just…appreciate that they were there, that Asgard's people had survived. HIS people. He looked over at Athena as she turned to him, with a smile on her face. She nodded her head towards them, to the pathway straight through them that led to the captain's chair. He smiled in return, lifting the hand he was still holding to press a kiss to it, and tucking it into the crook of his elbow, walking with her beside him down the path. This was his way of telling all gathered that they did not just have a new king but a new queen as well.

Once they were settled, once they'd found a new home, he would make it official and marry Athena as he had promised her so long ago. Discovering the Mind Stone had set them on a quest to determine what was going on, why the Infinity Stones were starting to be discovered so easily. They had planned to investigate and then return to Asgard to marry, but one clue led to another and another and here they were.

Thor shook himself from his thoughts. He could see in the faces of his people a joy for this moment, an appreciation, a new hope and relief that they were not alone in this world. He nodded his head humbly to them as he passed, grateful, dignified in a way he knew he had not been the last time he had been presented such power. He looked up at the captain's chair, seeing Hulk, Loki, the Valkyrie, and Heimdall standing on either side of it, with Korg and Miek off to the side. He chuckled to himself as he approached the chair, shaking his head as he noticed there was only one chair much like the throne in Asgard.

"Your throne," the Valkyrie offered.

He looked down at it and then to Athena, letting out a small laugh at the situation under his breath. Wherever they ended up, he would have two thrones constructed, a new era of equality. She gave his elbow a reaffirming squeeze before she let go, giving a small nod to the chair…before dropping into teasing curtsy.

He laughed louder at that, pulling her up from her move to lean in and kiss her, the Asgardians cheering and applauding behind him. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled away, resting his forehead to hers, looking into her eyes.

"Go," she whispered to him, a proud smile on her face.

He took a breath and straightened, stepping around the chair and sitting down on it, looking out the wide windshield at the stars beyond. He glanced over his shoulder to see Athena on his right, with Heimdall, with Loki on his left with the Valkyrie.

Athena looked over at the other two and couldn't stop the small smirk on her face, "Trust me then?" she asked the Valkyrie, realizing the woman hadn't objected to Thor's clear statement to the people regarding her place among them, her status as their to-be-Queen. In fact, if she recalled correctly, the woman might have been clapping along with the others just then.

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes, "For now," though the smile she gave Athena in return told the Olympian that it extended far past just that moment. She had proven her worth, dedication, and care for Asgard on the Rainbow Bridge. She had proven herself a Queen worth following.

"So, King of Asgard," Heimdall began, "Where to?"

"I'm not sure," Thor admitted, looking around at those gathered nearest, "Any suggestions? Miek, what's your home planet?"

A part of him knew that, if he had asked, Athena would have done all she could to get her father to open up her home to the refugees his people had become. But a larger part of him knew the strain that would cause. The Olympians had closed themselves off from all the realms for a reason, he and Athena were an exception. And he would not push his luck with the tentative approval he'd managed to gather from Zeus to court, and one day wed, his most cherished daughter. It would be a last resort.

Korg looked down at Miek, who he was holding under his arm, the alien out of its protective armor, "Oh, Miek's dead. I accidentally stepped on him on the bridge, I've just felt so guilty I've been carrying him around all day..." he trailed off when Miek began to wiggle in his arm, surprising him, "Miek! You're alive! He's alive everyone! ...what was your question?"

Thor chuckled and shook his head, "Earth it is."

Athena smiled as she looked down at Thor, the man looking over his other shoulder at her a moment before he focused back on the stars. She took a deep breath as she stood tall before the Asgardians, her hands clasped before her, rubbing the palm of her left hand with her right thumb, her only sign of how anxious she was for the journey ahead.

~8~

Thor and Loki stood at the large windshield of the ship, gazing out at the stars, their wounds from the battle largely healed. Athena and the Valkyrie were in a training room they'd found, Athena feeling restless from how the healers had ordered her to take it easy, and the Valkyrie wanting to brush up on her skills since she hadn't fought in quite a while. It had been a few days since they had left Asgard. He hadn't wanted to push the ship too quickly to Earth, he wanted to give his people time to grieve and mourn what they had lost before forcing a new land and people on them. There was plenty of food aboard, enough to last them the trip to Earth, but very soon they would have to start flying the ship faster than it was going presently.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?" Loki asked absently.

"Sure," Thor nodded, having given a lot of thought to if Earth would be a good place. But he kept coming back to Odin and Frigga, to what they'd said about Norway, how it reminded them so much of home, and he knew in his heart it would be a place to settle, a place that would inspire that familiar warmth inside his people, "They love me there. Athena and I have…"

"Let me rephrase," Loki cut in, "Do you really think it's a good idea to bring ME back to Earth?"

Thor smiled and reached out to pat Loki on the shoulder, "Probably not. But don't worry, brother...I've got a feeling that everything's going to work out."

The two men turned to look out the window with smiles on their faces…

Neither could see the massive Warship approaching their sanctuary from behind…

To be continued…in…Cunning!

A/N: It's over, I can't believe it's over! :'( But we still have at least one more Thor story to go before we're all caught up movie-wise :) I feel like, with everything happening in Infinity Wars, some cunning is definitely going to be involved ;)

Speaking of stories to go, I've decided what I'm going to do in terms of uploading the movie-stories. I've been agonizing over it and taking all your suggestions and thoughts into account and what I plan to do is to space things out just a little.

The next story I'll be posting will be Captain America: The First Avenger version of Steve's OC. Once that is completed, I'll be returning to this series and posting Athena's Infinity War version. I do this mostly to get a little more variety, but also to build up at least a little bit of suspense for Infinity War. I plan to try and get the first Steve/OC story up within the next week, 2 weeks at most ;) So I'm going to be aiming for Athena's Infinity War story near the end of June or start of July :)

After that, for anyone interested, I'll be going back and forth between Captain America stories and Star Trek Cora's story, then Loki's Kona works, then back to Star Trek's Victoria story, and finishing up with Sherlock. Captain America will be cut in between them just to shake things up.

And, just to end...I really have to say thank you guys SO much! Really, I give each and every reader/reviewer/favoriter/follower/ko-fi giver/anythinger a virtual hug because you guys are amazing :) I write for all of you guys and I'm just so touched that you all liked the story and am truly thankful that you're enjoying Athena and Thor :) I'll do my very best to keep it up in the future, because you guys most definitely deserve it. I love you all :')

Some notes on reviews...

I'm honestly not sure if it's more fun writing Thor for Ragnarok or not. Mostly because, while I did think Ragnarok was amazing and super funny, it also felt disjointed from the other movies that came before it and I felt like the humor was almost out of place in what had been, to that point, a more serious string of movies. So I tried to balance the humor with more serious moments. Hope it worked :)

I'll definitely be doing Infinity War for Athena and both movies for Kona, no worries ;)

I probably won't put Hela back in Infinity War, mostly because I was happy she'd been defeated and would rather her stay away from hurting Thor or Athena again :) But it would be funny if that had been like a blooper on set, of Hela punching Thanos since she called dibs on Thor lol :)


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